W A T
by Sorugao-BandGeek
Summary: Fate had a way of dealing unfortunate events. Recalling what was supposed to be a story and living it was one of those moments where she wondered what was really happening. She had a choice though, continue with the madness or runaway, and she knew she wasn't ever abandoning family, no matter what (SI-OC, twins). [Being Rewritten - being Uploaded as We Are Two]
1. o

**AN:** This is something I've been toying around with and will take awhile to draw out. I haven't been apart of the KHR fandom for awhile and have mostly submersed myself in the Naruto-verse again. This is what happens when I revisit old fandoms and decide to do an SI-OC insert. I haven't read any for the KHR fandom so if this seems like something someone else has done, I have no clue. This is a total work in progress and I'm still hashing out what I want to do, but I have an idea on how I want this to go.

It will follow the manga closely and deviate into (hopefully) new territory because there is now another person to include and I hope that I can pull that off without it seeming like I just stuck the SI-OC in the story.

Other than that, Enjoy the story guys!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.**

 **Edited (6/22/16):** There have been a few more scenes added.

* * *

 _i_

 _The pain was gone before it could really be felt. Everything felt light and free. I don't know how long it took for whatever it is that happened to finally go through, but when it did it was like a breath fresh air, cold and crisp, and then I was crying._

 _Relieved that I could finally breathe in peace again; following my cry was another and I tried to open my eyes to see who else was with me in this. Everything was blurry and instead all I felt was myself being handed off to someone, who seemed to be crying and saying something, but I couldn't understand._

" _Natsume and Tsunayoshi," I heard them say, to which I wrinkled my brow and tried to correct, only to cry out a bit more before whomever it was holding me soothed me by rubbing my hair, "There, there Tsu-chan, mama's here."_

 _And I was out like a light_.

 _ii_

 _I did not wake up until way later and by that time I realized that I wasn't as tall as I used to be, nor was I anywhere near what I would call home. Instead I was Sawada Natsume, the older sister of Sawada Tsunayoshi and daughter to Sawada Nana; I was about a year and a half old when my consciousness woke up again and it took me awhile to get myself oriented._

 _I was sitting up in a playpen, with my little brother laying a ways from me and I couldn't help but think that this was really weird. My feelings got to me, along with all the thoughts that were trying to go through my mind and I started crying._

 _I heard the pitter patter of footsteps coming towards me, felt myself being picked up. Whoever it was, I had to thank them, because as soon as I was in their arms I was feeling better. Everything was fading away just like before._

 _Once again the world went dark._

* * *

Sawada Natsume and Tsunayoshi always strived to do their best. It pleased their mother when they would try and though others weren't, it didn't matter - _mama_ was and she was the only one who cared.

Natsume tried her best not to cry, rubbing at the ache in her cheek where Stupid Ami had decided to hit her. At six years old Natsume knew what the other kids said to them wasn't nice, understood that what they did was hurtful and if it had been anyone else they would been a crying, snotty mess. There was always an annoyance in the back of her mind and it gave her headaches, but she knew this wasn't right.

It wasn't right how the kids jeered at them.

How they made fun of them for not having a papa.

That they were dirty and ugly just because they had darker skin than them.

The sensei's would rarely listen, only shake their heads and tell them all to play nice.

So when Stupid Ami tried to smack her again, Natsume had had enough. With her face scrunched up and her body a shaky mess, Ami's hand swatted at her shoulder instead of her face again, while Natsume's hands pulled at the other girl's dark hair. There was a cry as Natsume tugged, while her other hand returned the slap in favor of the one she had received earlier.

"Hey! You two cut it out!"

"Natsu, no," it was Tsunayoshi's voice that urged her to let go and she did, letting her brother tug her back as he ghosted about her shoulder. The sensei was angry, the redness that creeped onto their pale face almost funny as they tried to console the other crying girl.

"I will be speaking to your mother Sawada!"

Natsume sniffled, "Hmm."

They could tell mama all they wanted, she wasn't going to let herself nor her brother be bothered by the others anymore.

* * *

Tsuna had told her not to do it, but she had done it anyway.

( _Her brother hated fighting, he was much like there mother who kept back, but one day he would snap, she knew just it_.)

The kids before her weren't much older than them, but it was one against three - and it would be more even if Tsuna jumped in, but her brother was wary, had become more skittish and clumsy since they had met Papa Timoteo.

At the age of eight, Natsume could feel something very wrong with her and it irked her and now matter how hard she tried she just couldn't figure it out what exactly was wrong.

"You know _Dame Tsuna_ over there tripped me today," there was a soft cry of protest from her brother and Natsume could feel her nails digging into her palms. "And then there's _you_ ," the boy trailed off before shrugging his shoulders, "Its like you two want to be taught a lesson!"

When the kids tried to surround them, Natsume thought back of what Nana had told her. Stories of when her cousins would gather around and start swinging fists _for fun._ Her mother had even shown her a couple moves that the many cousins had taught her. There was a soft hum within her, an understanding as she pushed Tsuna further back and ducked beneath the leader's fist.

 _'Keep them unsteady,.'_ Her mother's voice was a soft croon in her ear and Natsume managed to shove the boy into the other one. _'Push and shove, duck and roll if you must.'_

 _'Only hurt when they wish to hurt you and what is yours.'_

Natsume barred her teeth and didn't wait for the last one to get to her, she lunged at him, knocking him back and it was Tsuna pulling her back that got her off of him.

"I don't care who you are," Natsume managed out, her voice shaking as much as her hands were, "But you mess with us and you deal with me."

* * *

"That's not right Tsuna and you know it," chastised Natsume as she poked her brother's forehead with the end of her pencil, "If you can't do it sensei's way, do it the way I showed you."

The ten year old just groaned as he let himself double over the table, "I don't want to do this Natsu." The sandy haired girl just hn'd at her brother while lightly hitting him over the head.

"And I don't want those stupid classmates of ours calling you Useless or No Good," she retorted setting the pencil in her hand down and running her hands through Tsuna's thick hair. "Come on you're almost done!"

"Gaahh, no."

"Get at least higher than a 70 then."

There was silence at that and she heard a muffled sound of agreement from the boy, to which she rolled her eyes. It was always the same thing with him; even if she found a way to make the homework interesting her brother despised doing it.

Fifteen minutes lapsed by in a nice, peaceful silence, only for it to be ruined by Tsuna as he threw down his pencil and whooped out a 'finished!'

"Really?"

All Natsume received was a sheepish grin to her unamused look. Holding eye contact with the brown haired boy only lasted five seconds as she looked down at her own work, flipping the worksheet over she realized she could skip the last two and still get an okay grade on it.

"Wee," she deadpanned as she put her work away into her bag, Tsuna mimicking her in that regard. "We can snack now!"

"Let's go see what mam is making," said Tsuna as he grabbed his twin's hand and pulled her up with him, "I hope she can make me a hamburger."

The sandy haired girl blew a raspberry at her brother, who gave her the stink eye before pulling her downstairs with him. Tsuna didn't see the sad smile that passed his sister's features, nor would he have understood why she was looking at him like that.

* * *

 _iii_

 _No one would understand what happened to me, if I speak out they'll think I'm crazy. So I decided to keep it to myself, both the memories and the possibility of my reincarnation. I was about seven, by the time I was able to handle the onslaught of memories. Yeah sometimes I got a migraine and I got a bit moody, but I was no longer blacking out and coming to months or years later._

 _It was around this time that I noticed where exactly I was - Namimori, Japan._

 _What was once a story was no longer, I was living it and sooner or later I'd have to be facing the true fear and worry of what my brother would be going through. I had already met Nono; the old Vongola boss came down once along with my father to visit us. And although he took an interest in both of us, I could see that his focus was on Tsuna._

 _I remembered my heart sinking and tears prickling the corner of my eyes, before I hastily wiped them away. Papa had noticed though and he asked me what was wrong, I think what I said hurt him more than I could ever imagine,_

" _I wish we could be a family like this all the time."_

 _That was about three years ago and I had seen Iemitsu twice since then. It really sucked to have him so far, I really liked him and I could tell it affected Mam a lot more than she'd ever let show. So I tried to help her lessen her worries, I helped her in keeping Tsuna up with his studies (The nickname Useless Tsuna had started being said towards him and while I rectified that, it also meant studying harder to be able to help my brother out)._

 _And it was when I was doing this that I realized that Tsuna really wasn't No Good or Useless, he was just lazy, and with a mother like Nana_ a _round_ **[1]** _(I loved the woman, I truly did, but she could be a bit airheaded and there was something else about her, but I wasn't sure) and an intuition like no other (even if he didn't know, he worried for Iemitsu far more than you would for someone who worked construction)._

 _So I concluded that Tsuna had dug himself a hole (without realizing it) and had settled himself in so well, that when he did try to fix it, all he did was dig deeper._

 _It was hard sometimes, but if it lessened whatever weight was on Mam's shoulders then I would put up with all the headaches in the world._

 _That didn't mean I couldn't be a pain in the butt._

* * *

She heard the group of people laughing and calling names, before she actually saw them. Clenching her teeth and balling her hands into fists, she stomped towards the group of second and third years. They had formed a half circle around the person they were picking on and it wasn't until she caught sight of unruly brown hair that she felt her face heat up in anger.

"Move out of my way," she spoke, trying to keep her voice from quivering in the rage she felt. One of the second years turned to say something, but when they caught her gaze, they froze. She sneered at them, not noticing how menacing it made her look, "Didn't you hear me? I said _move_."

The student stepped back, pulling someone along with them as they turned tail and ran. She dove in through the crowd and pushed her way to the front, to find her brother on the ground covered in dirt and bruises.

She kneeled in front of him, touching his face and felt the tears that had been shed. "Tsuna come on, let's go, schools over." Her brother timidly nodded his head and with her help, he got up, before they took a step forward though, she pushed the brunette behind her and turned to look at the group of people before them.

' _Think murder.'_

She looked over them, studying their faces and how they all quieted as they looked at her. She gave them the coldest glare she could muster, only to be interrupted by one voice.

"Crowding is against school rules," came a prefect's voice, causing the group to jump and quickly disperse. The boy sniffed, narrowing his eyes and she knew he would get them later. "You two, quit causing trouble."

With that Hibari Kyoya turned around and left to wherever he was needed. Natsume frowned and could feel her anger rising once more, only for it to calm down as an arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Come on Natsu, let's go home," it broke her heart to hear the normally chirpy and goofy boy, sounding so quiet and beaten down. She sighed, and let herself be led out of the school by Tsuna, who she ended up wrapping an arm around his waist.

"So much for the disciplinary committee," she uttered loud enough for the committee member to hear, "Supposed to keep the peace my ass."

Tsuna clucked his tongue at her, pulling at her ear. She snorted, pouting at his form of chastising her. It was true, the committee was supposed to keep the peace in Nami-chuu, what use were they if they didn't help those who couldn't help themselves or were being ganged up on?

"They're supposed to stop that from happening Tsuna, it's not my fault they fail at what they do."

And let this get back to Hibari, she didn't care, even if he beat her up, she'd chew his ass up and speak her thoughts out. This wasn't the first time that Tsuna had been ganged up on and it wouldn't be the last.

* * *

 _iv_

 _The first term of middle school had gone by and Tsuna and I stood in the middle. We were average students, average kids, and most would probably call us mediocre for settling to just be average. Average was normal, there was little to no pressure, we could work at our own pace and although our work was not the best sometimes, it was at least the neatest._

 _Academically we were fine, but it was during physicals that we differed. I got decent scores, while Tsuna got below average and no matter how many pointers I gave him, or tried to get him to do better, Tsuna was just a klutz._

 _He was a sweet kid, my brother, but it was here where even I couldn't reach him no matter how hard I tried. It was here where the kids picked on him and the name No Good surfaced again and I know Tsuna tried to play it off like it didn't bother him, but I knew my brother, my other half, I knew it hurt him._

 _It wasn't a huge thing, but for people who were supposed to be your own classmates to constantly make fun of you, to say "Don't be a Tsunayoshi!" it was a huge bummer._

 _I never realized how cruel kids could be, but I realized something else as well, I could be crueler._

* * *

"I'm so excited!" exclaimed Natsume as she checked their bags once more before shouldering them. "We're going to the beach!"

School was finally out with the summer heat finally making itself known. Nana had promised the twins that they would go to the beach during the week and the day had finally come. As the hazel eyed girl waited at the door, she couldn't help but wince at the thud she heard, followed by a crash and a cry of pain.

"Tuna-fish," she grumbled as she headed towards the staircase and came across the limp form of her brother. She tsk'd at him and poked him with her foot and when he groaned, she smiled, "Come on Tuna-fish, up you go."

It took a bit to steady her brother, but she kept her hand in his in case he did tip over again. She checked him for any bruises and saw none. Squeezing his hand she began to lead him towards the door, while he stumbled behind her.

"Mam called a taxi; they should be getting here soon."

"Tsu-kun, Tsu-chan! Lock up, the taxi's here~"

"Coming Mam!" called the two in unison as they exited the home, Natsume making sure that the door was locked before hurrying out the gate.

"It's gonna be so nice!" chirped Natsume as she sat in between her mother and brother in the back seat, "This will be worth waking up so early!"

Nana giggled at her daughter's enthusiasm, casting Tsuna a look as she looked at his rumpled state. She wrapped an arm around her daughter, her hand coming down on Tsuna's shoulder who looked over at her with a sleepy eyes.

"Everything fine, Tsu-kun?" at the nod he gave her, Nana relaxed and quickly ran a hand through her son's hair. "If anything starts hurting let me know."

With a grunt, the boy let his head fall on his sister's shoulder and snoozed away. The older woman couldn't help the smile that overcame her. She was proud of her children and just by looking at them she was happy they were hers.

If only her dearest husband was here to share this moment with them, she was sure he would be equally as proud of their children as she was.

"Be careful in the water you two!" called Nana as the twins finished setting up their things and quickly took off into the waters. The motherly advice fell on deaf ears, as one twin squealed when the other jumped them and pushed the two further into the depths of the water.

"Natsume!"

"What? That was fun!"

"Yeah, but I can't swim that well."

"That's why I'm here, tuna-fish, no need to worry," smiled Natsume as she sunk her toes in the sand, wrinkling her nose as the gunky feeling settled in between her toes. Tsuna stuck his tongue out at her as he moved himself closer towards the shore, while she let the motion of the water move her around.

"Ne, Tsuna,"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever get a feeling that something big is going to happen?"

Her question threw the younger boy off the loop and as his eyes widened and he looked around, the girl sent a splash of water his way, "Not like that!" At his smile, she knew he had been messing with her, so she edged closer to him and let herself cling to him as he gave her a suffering look.

"Sometimes, why do you ask?"

"Dunno, I just feel like something's going to happen…"

She wouldn't tell him what she knew, as much as she loved him, she couldn't tell him or anyone for that matter about what she had been through and what was going to happen. Someone poking her nose brought her out of her thoughts and the concerned look in her baby brother's eyes made her feel almost guilty.

"Stop thinking so much," said Tsuna, "You'll get old like Papa Timoteo."

Natsume laughed, whatever she was expecting Tsuna to say, it wasn't that. Trust her brother to say the most unexpected things. As she pulled away from him and dove into an incoming wave, Natsume couldn't help but feel lighter.

Tsuna would be fine, she knew him, and she knew her brother would make it through.

* * *

The beach trip had been a couple weeks ago, school was only two weeks away and Natsume could feel her nerves kicking up. Her summer homework had been finished (and so had Tsuna's, she made damn sure) and the two spent the vacation lazing about, helping Nana on occasion with the cooking and cleaning.

They had received a call from Iemitsu a couple days ago; the old man was fine, having finally gotten a break from his work to phone home. The two had spoken well with their father, though Natsume could sense a bit of resentment from Tsuna after they had finished speaking. She couldn't do anything for that and she tried her best to cheer up Nana who looked like she was about to cry once the call was over.

As fine as the three of them were, it was obvious that they were missing the man, and it was even more obvious on the days that Iemitsu called, just how much the man was missing out on.

A knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts. Natsume stood up from the couch and went to the front door, instead of seeing someone at the door, there was a basket with a small note attached to it. She knelt down and lifted the blankets and promptly squealed.

Picking up the tiny creature (it literally squeaked) and cuddling it in her arms, she took it to her mother, who tried giving her a disapproving look, but for the smile that quirked at her lips.

"Pap sent 'em Mam!"

Sawada Nana couldn't say no to neither the puppy face her daughter gave her, nor the adorable black cat she had brought in. Nana nodded, pulling her daughter to her and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"She's you're responsibility, I'm sure you can take care of her Natsume."

"I will! I will! I'm gonna go to the store and get her a couple things; I'll take her with me!"

The girl had rushed upstairs, kitten in hand, not even waiting for her mother to give her permission. Nana sighed, running a hand through her short hair, when Iemitsu said he was sending gifts, he should have at least warned that one of them would be an animal.

The pet mart wasn't too far of a trip to make on her own. Tsuna had been snoozing away in his room and she knew of the trying times that were to come, this summer was their last peaceful one before insanity claimed them.

Iemitsu had a habit of sending the twins money more often than he called (in his own way making up for not being there), so she didn't have to bother Nana for money. She had already loaded up a cart with kitten food, a litter box and the litter itself, along with a few toys, a flea shampoo, and a green collar with a bell attached to it.

"Emi," was the name she decided on the kitten as she stood before the plaque engraving machine, to which the kitten purred too. Lost in her thoughts, Natsume didn't notice the prefect standing a ways from her until he cleared his throat.

Seeing who it was, Natsume couldn't help but mentally groan, on the outside she just blinked at him. "Hibari-san."

"Herbivore."

"I have a name Hibari-san," she grumbled as she bent down to pick up the plaque that had come out of the bottom slot of the machine. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" The black haired prefect just stared at her, his gray eyes burning into hers, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. No fifteen year old should have such an intense stare.

A tonfa gleamed from his within his sleeves as Hibari moved closer to her, "Speaking ill of the committee is not wise, herbivore."

Hazel eyes narrowed at the clear threat. The calmness that had surrounded Natsume was quickly replaced by something else, completely noticeable in the way her smile seemed to sharpen and s _omething_ in her eyes changed.

"That's so funny, Hibari-san," her smile was gone replaced by a disdainful look that she gave him, "I'll speak only of the good the committee has done," she paused, eyeing the distance between them, "Which won't be much since it's more a group of no good delinquents than anything else."

"Oh?"

Natsume harrumphed, stepping around the prefect to get to her cart. "The day the committee does something that a _ctually_ helps the students, instead of terrorizing them is nothing but a fantasy."

She heard the prefect scoff, but didn't bother turning around to see what he did next, instead she pushed her cart away and headed to one of the cashiers.

Under her breath she murmured, "God only knows we'll need it."

She didn't realize that her statement had been heard.

* * *

A week later, Natsume was in Tsuna's room, watching the brunette play video games and enjoying the frustration her brother felt in being unable to pass a certain quest.

"Just do it!" Tsuna nearly cried as he literally button mashed on the controller, only for his character to die for the tenth time that afternoon.

"Why don't you just take a different path?" she suggested, as she gathered Emi in her arms and let her rest on her chest, "You keep going that way and the same thing happens."

"I just want to close the portal already!" Tsuna snapped at her in frustration, letting the controller fall out of his hands and onto the floor.

"And obviously you're not strong enough to do that yet," not bothered at all by how he spoke to her, a long time a ago, she knew a boy, who would punch holes in the wall in a fit of frustration. Tsuna being snappish was much tamer and way easier to deal with than that. "So go level up doing some other stuff and come back to it."

Tsuna made a noise in the back of his throat, picked up the controller and loaded his previously saved game. Sometimes his sister was literally his voice of reason (and his motivation), he felt an embarrassed flush spread across his cheeks because he realized that he had yelled at her when she was only trying to help him.

"It's okay Tuna-fish," came her soft voice, sounding a bit distracted as she wiggled her fingers at the black amber eyed kitten, "Your _ane_ is here to guide you along the road of life."

Tsuna sweatdropped at his sister's words, then there were times like these were even _he_ thought she was weird.

 _vi_

 _Puberty was a bitch the second time around. The first time had been easier and I wish I could go way back and switch, the pain and excessive bloating, along with having to deal with not only my emotions, but the emotions of a distant memory made me hard to deal with on some days._

 _I did say I could be a pain in the ass._

 _School had already started and no sign of Reborn yet. Weird. I thought he would have shown up by now, but whatever, the peace will be over as soon as that arcobaleno arrives. Sometimes I worry, I can't help it, I'll always worry about Tsuna and Nana and even Iemitsu (even if he was beyond capable of handling himself)._

 _There were events coming up that I knew would be a completely different experience from reading. I would be experiencing it._

 _And that was_ if _the story I recall is even true._

 _I'm still not too sure._

 _Everything else has been lining up so far, I could only hope that life continues to be as peaceful as it has always been._

* * *

It had been the first day of second term and Natsume was already over it. The first thing she did when she got home was dress out of her uniform and put on a pair of black jeans and a simple white baseball tee, with gray sleeves. She heard the doorbell ring, heard someone give a questioning shout (Tsuna) before they laughed. Which was quickly followed by a cry a pain and someone falling down to the floor.

Hearing that, the sandy haired girl rushed out of her room and down the stairs, almost tripping over the groaning form of her brother when she jumped the last step and rushed the corner

"Tsuna what the hell!?"

If Nana had been home she would have reprimanded, but the woman was out and so Natsume was free to curse as she pleased

"Ciaossu!"

She felt her heart sink as she looked at the tiny babe who still stood in the door way, a chameleon in his hand.

"You must be Sawada Natsume," came the tiny voice of the fedora wearing infant, "I'll be your new home tutor Reborn."

' _Someone save us.'_

Natsume could kiss the peace goodbye, for she would never see it again.

* * *

 **[1] -** the original Nana is what I mean.


	2. oo

**AN:** So I went over the last chapter and corrected somethings, just went over this one and it may not be perfect, probably missed some errors or a part doesn't make sense. Just let me know and I'll fix it.

This is more of a how can I start slightly canon and derail it completely? So I'm working on that and also trying to make it more descriptive. I feel like I write too straight to the point and it makes the story sound a little boring. A heads up, the story won't be updated as quickly as this chapter came out, inspiration comes and goes and my laptops iffy internet connection makes it hard to constantly be checking up on things. So don't hate me for any delays?

Anyway, enjoy guys~

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.**

* * *

Nana had been out getting groceries when Reborn had shown up, so the twins plus the weird infant had gone up to Tsuna's room and while Natsume settled on the bed and Tsuna in the only chair in the room, Reborn just stood in the middle of the room and gave each sibling a long stare.

"So?" began Natsume, who sat cross legged on the bed, chin resting in her hand, "You know who we are, we know who you are, now why are you here?"

"Are you deaf? I said I was your home tutor-"

"We don't need a tutor," butted in Tsuna from where he sat,chin resting over his arms, which he had crossed over the back of the chair, "We're doing fine in school and everything."

"Ah," Reborn blinked at them both, before the chameleon in his hand changed into something long and green and smacked the two in the face. "If you two would let me finish, you would know that I'm not just _any_ home tutor."

He let that carry out into the silence, ignoring the angry muttering from the girl and the low whining sound from the boy. These two were Iemitsu's kids? They'd have a lot of shaping up to do. Reborn really had his work cut out for him.

"So aren't you going to ask me what kind of home tutor I am?"

"You just said to not interr-" Natsume slumped over to her side from the force that Reborn hit her upside the head, "gah, I'm dead, tell Mam I love her Tuna-fish."

"As I was saying," spoke Reborn, ignoring the girl's dramatics, who now threw him an annoyed look, "I'm not just any home tutor, I'm here to teach you two how to be a proper mafia boss."

Pure shocked silence followed his statement, something that he would have smirked at, but instead just smiled cutely at them.

"I volunteer Tsuna as tribute," came the muffled voice from the sandy haired girl.

"Eh!? Natsume do you seriously believe this kid?"

"I'm not a kid, I'm an assassin."

"Stop that!" cried Tsuna, who stood up abruptly, nearly knocking his chair over. He stared down at the infant who just blinked at him, "If this is your idea of a prank, good one but I want not-" The brunette was silenced as the chameleon in Reborn's hand transformed into a small gun. An ominous click resounded in the room as Reborn took the safety off and pointed it at Tsuna.

"Whether you want to believe me or not, you two have been chosen and it is my duty to train the both of you," there was an underlying tone in the kids voice, one that put both Tsuna and Natsume on edge, making the two hold their tongues from any smart remarks. "So it takes threatening the two of you to start being serious? I can do that."

"You sound a little too happy about that," muttered Natsume as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position, clearing her throat as she spoke louder "But you honestly can't expect us to just take your word for it."

"Slightly sensible," his comment made Natsume pout, though she would deny pouting at all, "Let's take a walk around, maybe something will happen that will convince you two." he turned around and made his way out the room leaving the two in the room with a stupefied look on their faces.

"Well, I was going to go out and get some food," murmured Natsume, upright denial clouding her tone, "Might as well get out there." And she too left the room, footsteps fading as he she walked down the stairs.

It was Tsuna who was left all by himself, a disbelieving look on his face, before he inhaled in annoyance, making a snorting noise.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a _bad_ idea?" he grumbled, grabbing a sweater that hung from one of the posts of his bed and put it on. "Serously a baby hitman? Get real!"

* * *

 _vii_

 _I feel like I should have known better._

 _I knew what Reborn was, but knowing is one thing. Seeing and interacting with someone like him was a completely different experience. It was almost_ jarring.

 _He proved his point though and I couldn't continue to act as I had been before. Even if Tsuna acted in complete denial and refused to accept it, the truth was there._

 _Yeah maybe in Tsuna's mind there was no possible way he could be an heir. But there was also supposed to be no possible way I was supposed to be reborn, hell even his sister. But they didn't know that._

* * *

Hearing that Reborn had mafia seduction was hilarious.

Finding out that Tsuna fancied Sasagawa Kyoko was not a surprise.

Seeing him get shot, with a blood streaming down his face had almost made her drop. With trembling hands, she focused the pain in her heart and made it her strength. Tsuna fell backwards and didn't get up and she moved on Reborn about to try her best to kill him with her bare hands.

When his gun turned on her, she paused – what could she do against that?

A scream filled with vengeance cut the air and Tsuna burst forth, leaving behind his clothes and what seemed to be a piece of himself. Natsume stared in shock, brain completely stalling as she saw her baby brother stand again, huffing as a bright orange flame sprouted from his forehead.

"I'm going to tell Sasagawa Kyoko how I feel with my dying will!"

And he ran off in the direction the girl had gone, leaving behind the two he had been walking with. Natsume stared after he brothers back, seeing how he kicked up a trail of dust in his wake. Her chest still thrummed with rage, fists clenched tightly and she could feel pain as her nails dug into her palm.

"Everything is going to be alright," came Reborn's voice as he walked in Tsuna's direction, "You'll see."

The baby hitman didn't see how her eyes flashed a golden color before reverting back to their hazel hue, but he did feel something radiate from her. He mentally patted himself on the back, he could feel Natsume's rage, how cold and hot it was. Could tell that she wanted to hurt him and it made him want to applaud her, not many would direct that intent at him.

He hid his smirk, knowing it would only push her further.

Maybe Iemitsu's kids wouldn't be that bad if this is what he got from.

* * *

By the time they got to Tsuna, the brunette was slumped against a wall holding his head in his hands. Natsume ran to him, dropping his neatly folded clothes aside as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her.

"Tsume?" he slurred leaning into her, his hand resting on her elbow as he pulled away from her, feeling like he couldn't breathe. She relinquished a little, one of her hands on his shoulders, the other moving to rest against his knee.

"You're fine Tsuna," she said, her voice wavering as her heart beat fast against her chest. "You're fine, come on get dressed."

Everything caught up to him as she handed him his clothes and he dropped them back on the ground and groaned.

"I just confessed to Kyoko," he uttered, staring at his hands as his expression morphed to one of pure horror, "She'll think I'm a pervert…"

Reborn chose that moment to speak up, "The dying will lasts only five minutes, after that anything you felt during it leaves you and you're back to your normal self."

Tsuna shook his head and sneezed. Something metal hit the floor between his legs and he picked it up. Tsuna's palor turned a ghastly gray as he looked at the bullet in his hand.

"This is a real?!"

"What else would I use?" piped Reborn as he pocketed his hands in his jacket. "But that bullet is much more than your ordinary one, that one has a specific use," he paused and settled his gaze firmly on Tsuna, "That's a dying will bullet, if you're hit with it and are regretting something, you'll be resurrected and have the will to complete whatever it was you were regretting."

"And if he wasn't regretting anything?" asked Natsume as she once again handed her brother his clothes.

"I said I was an assassin."

The trio was starting to attract attention, seeing as Tsuna was still in a state of undress and there was a baby with a gun. Although she didn't want to brush off the moment, it would be better to leave and act as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Come on Tsuna," she urged, shaking him to get his attention, "Let's go, we're getting weird looks."

With a miffed sound from Tsuna as he pulled on his shirt, Natsume stood up and eyed Reborn, turned around and began to walk down the road. Tears threatened to fall, but she refused to shed them instead she pushed the feeling of wanting to scream and cry to the side. She could deal with this later, right now she needed to get away from Tsuna, from Reborn and hopefully forget the feeling of terror she felt clawing at the edges.

A sniffle left her and a tear slipped, she hunched her shoulders and quickened her pace.

This was going to be the rest of her life, she'd have to get used to it.

* * *

They had returned back home, forgoing getting take out, getting home just in time to help Nana sort out the groceries and begin dinner. The woman was absolutely delighted with the idea of having Reborn over and couldn't help herself as she cooed over him.

While that went on, Tsuna eyed his sister watching as she just went through the motions of putting everything away. She was zoned out, he could tell by the faraway look in her eye. He could see that she was angry and when Natsume was enraged she tended to sit on it for a long time until something as simple as misplacing her book bag would set her off into a huge fit.

He too was quiet, feeling a little numb once he realized he had _died._

Reborn had explained to them on the way home what exactly the dying will bullets were and who they came from. The name Vongola stuck in his head and when he wasn't focusing on what he was doing, he was busy thinking on why that name sounded familiar. Whoever they were, apparently the current head was getting on in his age and had decided that he, Tsuna, would be the next in line.

The other candidates that had been before him where no longer living and that made Tsuna worry. Deaths didn't happen back to back like that, not unless someone else wanted the power that came with being the next Boss.

"I don't want it," he muttered as he set aside a cup of rice and put the rest of it away.

"Don't want what, Tsu-kun?" came his mother's voice from beside him, a smile on her face as she looked at him. "I could make something else if you'd like?"

"O-oh no!" he shook his head fiercely, "That's not it, I was just thinking of other stuff," he finished off lamely as he poured the rice into the cooker and set the timer.

"Care to share?" Nana tilted her head to the side, bumping her shoulder against her son's, "I'm always here to listen."

And she was, and he absolutely loved her for that, but this, if this was true. It was definitely something he couldn't willingly bring her into.

"I just don't think we need a home tutor," Tsuna didn't wince at the slight lie, even if there was more truth to it than anything. They didn't need a home tutor, he and Natsume were fine, and they definitely shouldn't have to deal with this mafia business right? He had a right to say no!

His mother hummed at his answer and he could feel Natsume's and Reborn's eyes on him. One looked away and left the room, the other remained. He shivered at the feeling he got from the look, but didn't dare look back. He stood straight and looked to his mother, not once wavering from her.

"We're doing fine in school aren't we? We're not failing or anything, so what use is a tutor for us?"

"But maybe a tutor is what you need to get out of the middle, Tsu-kun," his mother responded as she prepped the chicken meat she had been cutting. He sputtered and Nana paused in what she was doing and looked into the pair of eyes that were so similar to her own, "You and Natsume need some motivation, just give Reborn a chance?"

He couldn't say no to that, so he nodded and leaned in to kiss his mom on the cheek before heading out of the kitchen. Silence reigned and the sound of a knife against a cutting board was heard. Reborn excused himself and hopped down and followed behind Tsuna, only slightly hearing what was murmured quietly underneath Sawada Nana's breath.

"Though if anything happens to my babies, I will make sure who ever caused it suffers," and wasn't _that_ oddly threatening to hear coming from the obliviously sweet woman that Iemitsu told long and loving tales of.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait a second, so you're saying that our great, great, great grandfather started this whole Vongola thing?" asked Tsuna as he picked up the paper Reborn had drawn out their paternal family tree. Natsume looked over his shoulder, eyes glancing over the name Timoteo and slightly narrowing, before landing on Iemitsu's name which branched down to hers and Tsuna's.

The two had been about to talk about what had happened earlier when Reborn kicked the door open and began where they had left off. Not wanting to get shot and not wanting to see someone she loved get shot again, the two complied and received a history lesson they had not been expecting.

"So Vongola used to be good?" questioned Natsume as she leaned back against Tsuna's bed, eyes tearing away from the sheet of paper and staring into Reborn's dark ones.

"Vongola is at the top of its game, it's always been –"

"That's not what I meant," she interrupted, arms crossing against her stomach as she looked up, "You said Vongola was a vigilant group, so they helped the people and did good stuff right?"

The hitman didn't even blink at the slight shot the girl took at Vongola's name.

"The Secondo twisted what was supposed to be a pure organization," she continued, "And made it something to be feared in which case similar groups began cropping up and it just continued didn't it? Now Vongola is what it is today, a dirty, convoluted, mockery of what it's supposed to be, where not even the sons of the current boss are safe because they've been murdered from taking the title that -."

"I understand you are against this, but there is no other choice –"

"There are plenty of other choices!" her voice was louder than she had wanted it to be, her rage surfacing again, and she would have continued but for the look she received from Reborn.

"Enough of your childish anger," his voice was flat, no humor, no nothing whatsoever. "You will listen and learn to control these outbursts of yours, because one day you won't meet someone as nice as me."

Natsume snorted, but kept her mouth shut. Tsuna's hand had reached out to her, but she pulled away from him.

"Tsu-kun! Tsu-chan! Reborn-kun! Dinner's ready!"

She was the first one to leave, leaving Tsuna to pick up Reborn.

"You know she means well," spoke up Tsuna, his voice low as he hung back in his room. Piercing black eyes looked at him and noted the serious look on the boy's face, "She won't forgive you for what you did earlier and she's snapping and trying to push you away, because if this is all true," Tsuna heaved a great sigh as he began to descend down the stairs, "Then we're pretty much screwed aren't we?"

* * *

Natsume had gotten ready for bed and was heading back to her room when she felt a pair of eyes on her. In front of Tsuna's room stood Reborn, already dressed for bed in a ridiculous stripped pajama and night cap, while Nana had called it adorable, she secretly thought it was horrendous.

"Goodnight," she bit out and snapped her door shut, leaning her full weight against it. Tears began to leak and fall down her cheeks as quiet sobs left her. This was happening, _this was really happening._ Panic filled her and she scrambled up to her bed, grabbing a pillow and smothering her face in it to muffle the sounds she made.

"It's real," she thought, "This is real, _the story is real_."

* * *

 _viii_

 _That night I dreamed of Tsuna dying, over and over and over again. I recalled the many different ways Reborn had used the dying will, I remembered someone with silver hair and a spitfire attitude, I remembered a boy who almost committed suicide._

 _I remembered a lot._

 _But mostly I remembered the peaceful life I used to live and I bitterly recalled what life would have been without the appearance of Reborn. I cursed many people that night, for the first time in this life I cursed my father, Iemitsu, because all though it wasn't his fault, it was._

 _He could have stood up and stopped this from happening._

 _He could have found someone else._

 _Someone who had grown up in that world and understood it, but no, he stood aside and let his son be chosen._

 _Sweet, innocent Tsunayoshi._

 _I cried a lot that night and I would continue to do so until I was unable to even muster the strength to do so. I cried for Tsuna who would carry the weight of everything on his shoulders, I cried because Nana would never truly know, but she would face every day wondering what was happening._

 _I cried because I remembered everything and everything hurt._

* * *

Morning came, an alarm blaring to life to wake two morning grumps. One groaned, feeling their face stretch as they crinkled their eyes, the other slept through it.

Natsume was sitting up in bed when she heard Tsuna yelp out in pain. She was about to rush to the other room, when it caught up to her what might have happened. Her hand fell at her side as she turned around and instead pulled out her school uniform and got ready. As she pulled on her knee high socks, a tiny noise from the corner of her bed alerted her that Emi was awake and would be needing to go outside.

Promptly ignoring what happened yesterday, Natsume left her room with a peaceful aura and a black kitten nuzzling her neck. She didn't go into Tsuna's room like she usually did to make sure he was at least dressed and continued down stairs.

It would be one of the many routines that would be broken in the months to come.

The walk to school was silent on her part; Tsuna wouldn't stop mumbling and freaking out about how school would go today.

"What is she going to say when she sees me? I'm sure everyone else is going to say something – oh man! I should just go home!" She reached out and grabbed his elbow before he could turn around and leave and instead laced their arms together so that he walked right beside her.

"You're not missing school just because of yesterday," she stated, hazel eyes looking straight ahead as the school came into view, "You'll have to deal with it eventually."

"But Tsume-" her elbow dug into his ribs cutting him off.

"Tsunayoshi."

The boy sighed and just let himself be led to school by the girl and as they walked through the gates of the school he could tell by the looks he was receiving that nothing was going to go well.

"Hey look its pants man!"

"Oi, oi Sawada! Heard you got rejected yesterday!"

It was so much noise, and she could feel Tsuna wilting beside her and knew his face was burning red in embarrassment. Her grip on him loosened just enough that he pulled away from her and began to head towards the entrance only for him to be cut off by a group of guys from the kendo club.

"Come on Sawada, can't be going home so early?"

"Yeah, Mochida-senpai wants to have a word with you, you know?"

And the brunette was dragged off, the rest of the students following behind. Natsume, along with a couple of other girls were left behind and the sandy haired girl couldn't help but sigh.

"Come on Kyoko, its for you this is being done for! We gotta see what happens!" she heard one girl say as she pulled along an unwilling Sasagawa Kyoko.

"But, but this isn't – he didn't make me cry!" protested the girl, only to be shushed down by her friend as they walked down the hallway, leaving Natsume alone.

"What will you do?" a tiny voice popped up, making Natsume look down, dark eyes looking at her, trying to find something.

"What do you think I'll do?"

"You can't step in for Tsuna forever, Natsume, he'll never grow if you're always there to protect him," said Reborn as he looked away from her and down the empty hallway. "I've watched you two for the past couple weeks before I ever introduced myself, you're able to stand up for yourself and your brother, but now Tsuna has to learn to do it himself."

"Yes because making him pretty much the butt of a joke in front of the whole school is a proper way of going about it," she snapped, glaring at the infant who didn't even bother to look at her and began walking down the hallway only to walk into the very person they were just talking about. "Tsuna what the hell?"

"Running away, not good for a mafia boss," there was a shout of pain, Tsuna landed on the floor a bruise already forming on his face, with Reborn landing right beside him. Pulling out his gun, the infant twirled it before pointing it at Tsuna's forehead, "Its troublesome, but I'm going to make our relationship work."

"Relationship?!" yelped out Tsuna as he tried to backwards crawl away from the tiny baby, meanwhile Natsume sounded out the word, her face devoid of emotion.

"I mean it as in, I'm the hitman and you're the target," it was too sweet how he said that, "Now die."

Tsuna slumped against the ground and it was yesterday all over again. Her breath caught in her throat, her mouth opening in a silent scream, yet she didn't make a sound. She only walked towards Reborn and flinched a bit when Tsuna burst forth, running back where he had come from. She took off after her brother, forgetting about Reborn, not realizing that the small hitman kept up with her.

"I'm never getting used to that," she muttered as she slipped into the dojo, her grip tightening on the strap of her book bag. She didn't notice the way the hitman looked at her.

' _Seeing someone die is something you should never get used to.'_


	3. I

**AN:** Third chapter, its more bulky and I'm starting to add more behind the scenes work that we don't get in the manga. After this chapter, they'll get more lengthy and I'll put more background stuff. I'm slowly starting to deviate (slowly) there are minor changes and forgive me if this seems rushed, for any errors, or miscommunication - I have some trouble getting what I have in my mind into words - and I'm working on that. I'm just hoping Natsume doesn't seem to sue-ish.

 **ADDBaby:** I am happy as a writer (mediocre as I am) to have gotten such a reaction from you, as a fellow reader I AM SO SORRY.

 **Midnight0Sky:** I totally get that! And I want to show that, and hopefully I continue to do a decent job of doing it!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.**

* * *

 _ix_

 _Something happened that day after Tsuna beat Mochida. The people at school were nicer to him, they stopped calling him names and actually treated him decently, but that wasn't it. I came home that day mentally and emotionally exhausted and just threw myself out in my room._

 _I thought about every little thing that had happened in the last two days, my reactions, my words - I realized I couldn't do this._

 _This was the mafia, this was Tsuna's training. This was how Reborn was going to prepare him for the worst, along with me. Because there was a very real chance Tsuna may die in the future and he wouldn't be getting back up - who would that leave?_

 _I will make my emotions my strength – my love, my rage, my sadness, - everything that was deemed useless and hindering, would be my weapon._

 _Men in the mafia are considered the strongest, the top dogs, the women are seen as little more than eye candy. But if I had too, I will hide behind that idea and when it came to it, they wouldn't know how to handle me._

* * *

"Your idiot brother has gotten himself in a mess."

Natsume refrained from slapping the infant upside the head – she'd already done it once and he almost broke her hand in retaliation.

"I know he can be an idiot, but please don't call him that," she chided as she put her things away in her bag and got up to leave. Tsuna had become a little more confident with all the positive comments lately and she wondered if he had done something that would leave him a sticky situation.

"He asked me to shoot him."

She palmed her face, a soft noise of exasperation leaving her. Leave it to Tsuna to _want_ to get shot just so he could keep his confidence. The brunette could flourish under positive attention and that showed in how he handled himself and how he spoke with others, but that attention was also damning because her brother didn't know how to say _no_.

"I'm sure he just couldn't refuse whatever it was he got himself into."

Her brother was a pushover, which is why she tended to stand for the two of them. Most of the students that had been with them since their elementary days knew the girl could be nice as long as they didn't do anything to upset her or bothered her brother – which everyone else in Nami-chuu was slowly learning.

Reborn didn't have anything else to say, only tipping his hat in Natsume's direction as he went elsewhere. She waved her hand, knowing she'd see him around soon and headed towards the gym. Hearing a collective groan of disproval made her heave great sigh, _"So much for things looking up"_. Going in she stayed near the entrance and with a bit of tippy toeing over the heads of students found Tsuna down on the volleyball court.

"Oh crap," was all she could say as she slumped against the wall and watched Tsuna 'play'. She wasn't the only one taking a back row seat to see the match, across from her was a silver haired boy who was intently staring at the match. Feeling her gaze he turned to look at her, his brows furrowed and lips pursed. One of his brows quirked up in question to which she shrugged and looked back to the center of the gym only to see Tsuna call time.

She heard him scoff as he stuck his hands in his pockets, muttering under his breathe, "So that's the tenth, huh?"

Her eyes widened at what he said and before she could say something to him, he was gone. She cast one last look at the courts before she exited the gym. Looking up and down the hallway for the silver haired boy and ended up dismissing it as a lost cause. A roar of approval came from the room she had left, echoing down the hall.

"Sawada, loitering in the halls is against school rules."

' _My luck sucks lately.'_

"Hibari-san," she greeted, turning towards the prefect who seemed to be sizing her up, "Always a pleasure to see you."

The teen sniffed and strode past her, not bothering to look back at her. The sandy haired girl's eyebrow twitched at the quick dismissal, but thought nothing more of it. Ever since she met the prefect there was something about him that rubbed against her and she was sure he felt it too; with a miffed sound of her own she went back into the gym and watched as Tsuna jump above and beyond what he had been doing before.

"Well the game changed quickly," she said to herself, a small smile crossing her features as her classmates cheered and gasped in disbelief, only for it to fade away as she realized something, " Wait, did Hibari-san call me Sawada, _he knows my name_."

From his secret hiding place, one lone hitman had watched the interaction between the two students and couldn't keep a smirk from forming.

' _Seems that Natsume could also be more than what she appears.'_

It was also entertaining to see the long haired girl's reaction. That deadpanned, no good stare was hereditary amongst the Sawada family it seemed.

* * *

"How was school today you two?" asked Nana as she cut up the food on Reborn's plate to make it easier for him to eat, "Careful, Reborn-kun, it's a little hot."

Tsuna launched into a story about how they actually asked _him_ to play on the volleyball team and explained everything that he had felt and gone through during the whole time. By the end, Nana had put her hand on the boy's shoulder, her eyes lighting up with happiness.

"I'm proud of you Tsu-kun!"

"Eh?" Tsuna seemed stumped as to why the woman would be saying that, after all he had just admitted that he was a bit of a coward but still continued on even if he knew he would probably fail. He cast a quick glance at Reborn, who had made himself more interested in his plate of food than on him. "Why?"

Nana's smile was filled with pride as she looked at him, "You stuck through and prevailed even though you thought you would fail Tsu-kun," she began her hand going to his and giving his light squeeze, "Before Reborn you would have never done that Tsunayoshi."

The way she said his name and pointed out that fact, the boy was a bit taken back. Nana returned to her plate of food and asked his sister how her day had gone, leaving Tsuna to his thoughts. The boy cast a glance at the infant, who seemed to notice his gaze and only dipped his head in his direction.

Maybe Reborn being here wasn't as bad idea as he thought?

"I met a boy, didn't get his name though," he heard Natsume say, to which he turned his attention too. Natsume was weird in that she never really tried to have friends, she had people she talked too due to homework and projects, and generally she was nice to everyone until they upset her by messing with him.

She had said she couldn't stand other people and he kind of understood where she was coming from. But after recent events, when people actually wanted to talk to _him,_ he hadn't realized how separated they had kept themselves from others, Natsume especially.

So to hear her say she met someone, let alone a boy, was curious.

"Oh? Was he handsome, Tsu-chan?" gushed his mother, giggling at the way Natsume tilted her head forward to hide the blush on her cheeks.

"More like weird," he heard his sister mutter under her breath, her lower lip puckering into a grimace as their mother went off on a story of how it was similar to how she and their father met in their younger years. The look she gave him made the boy frown, mouthing to him ' _later'_ and it made Tsuna wonder exactly who this person was and what he did to catch his twin's attention.

Reborn watched this all under a careful eye, a smile quirking at the corners of his lips as he watched the twins and their mother talk. It was barely there, but in the few days that he had been with the twins they had grown a bit.

Question was how would they handle it when the balance they reached was upset?

* * *

Natsume had been ready to go to bed when Emi had insisted that she wanted to leave the room. The girl complied and let the small cat roam around the house while she went downstairs. She had already spoken to her brother, who had promptly lost any composure he had and freaked out.

While amusing, it didn't sit right with her when Reborn only stayed quiet. Not that she expected anything out of the hitman, but at least an ' _I'll look into it_ ' would have been nice from the tutor. A quiet meow from beside her made her focus on the amber eyed cat, who trotted up towards the front door and sat in front of it and turned to look at her expectantly.

"Outside? Its late though, tomorrow Emi," a soft meow was her answer as the cat stretched up and curled itself between her legs before heading elsewhere. "Silly cat," she muttered as she went to turn off the front porch light.

After a while, she ushered the cat upstairs and into her room and once again she was met with the unusual sight of Reborn standing outside Tsuna's room.

"Reborn?" she asked the infant, crouching before him to be closer to his eye level, "Did you need something?"

Never let it be said that she wasn't nice to the tiny hitman.

"No," he chirped in response, dark eyes looking over her real quick before he turned his back, "Just wondering what all that noise was."

"Oh, my bad," she offered, one hand going up to scratch the back of her head, "I forget that I can be pretty loud. I won't be roaming around anymore, so you can sleep in peace."

The infant nodded and closed the door. All the while she gave the closed door a perplexed look, what did he mean by ' _that wasn't what he meant?'_

 _x_

 _I dreamt of a life I was once knew – at least I hope I did._

 _Does that make me crazy? That I hoped that I was dreaming of a past life and that some part of me hoped it was true?_

 _Jasmine Rojas was a name I was tempted to look for, she would be around my age if she did, but I refused to do so. This was my life now, even if some part of me still doesn't believe it. Maybe it's why I'm willing to stand up for Tsuna, why I'm willing to be more outspoken and defensive when the situation calls for it._

 _Before as Jasmine, she was quiet, she held her tongue. She didn't bother stopping fights or speaking up when her opinion would have made a huge difference. Me, I'm quiet, but I can't hold my tongue, not when I know something's wrong – I've spoken against the committee, against Reborn (when Tsuna wasn't brave enough to do so), and I sure as hell am going to continue to speak up._

 _If that life did happen and what I remember has at least a bit of truth, Tsuna would need a voice like mine – someone to speak up when things are wrong._

 _Most of the time though? I forget that there's a chance she exists and I try to just live_ my _life._

* * *

"Stop fretting Tsuna," Natsume snapped, rubbing her eye with the back of hand, while the other flicked the panicking boy on the forehead, "It's too early for this."

"Hiee! Natsume!" that was a sound she hadn't heard in a while, which made her turn her full attention on her young brother.

"What happened?"

Tsuna almost blanched at how quickly his sister's face smoothed out, nor did he miss the way her eyes narrowed and seemed to shine. He blinked and she was smiling tiredly at him again, another blink and he swore his sister's eyes had been a differnt color. Her fingers tapping against his cheek brought him out of his thoughts and he offered her a sheepish smile.

"It's n-nothing, Tsume!"

The girl harrumphed not exactly pleased with him, but let it go. If he wanted to tell her he would, if he didn't he would deal with it. Eventually.

"Look I'm gonna go get us some snacks, I-I'll be back!"

She waved him off, eyes not leaving his back until he turned the corner and he was out of her sight. Rubbing the back of her neck, the sandy haired girl only waited a couple of seconds where he had left her before going into Tsuna's homeroom. About to ask one of the other girl's what had happened, three boys who had been in the middle of the room seemed to 'brighten' up when they saw her.

"Hey, Miyo-"

"Oi Sawada-chan!"

The girl looked up at the seniors before her – _what where they doing in a freshman class?_ – and instantly dismissed them as unimportant.

"Hey I'm talking to you, geez seems like being dumb runs in the family!" her lips twitched up, her eyes crinkling into slits at that remark and she turned to give her full attention to the boy with the bandana.

"And I should care about you why?" she asked, not in the mood to deal with the brutish looking boy, her smile sharp and filled with a promise of pain if they answered wrong.

"I want an apology from that No Good brother of yours, he hurt me earlier," the way he spoke made it seem like being 'hurt' by Tsuna was a big joke.

"Oh," was all she said, her head tilting to the side as she pursed her lips. Crossing her arms underneath her chest she gave the senior an unimpressed look , "Well forgive my brother, sempai."

The laughter she got from the trio of boys only served to annoy her further. The way her eyes became half lidded was another warning and the other first years backed away from the area, already knowing what was coming from the elder Sawada.

"But I won't apologize for what I do."

The older teen didn't get a chance to laugh at her as she stomped on his foot and as he bent over, his hands reaching out to soothe the pain, she grabbed his face and made sure he saw the sickeningly sweet smile she gave him before she punched him in the face, efficiently knocking him down onto the floor. Shaking out her hand, she gave the other two teens an unimpressed look and spread her other hand out, while raising a brow,

"Problem?"

And they scattered away, pulling along the downed teen with them.

"Geez, Sawada is still as scary as ever," muttered one of the boys in the back as the girl gave another unimpressed huff and walked out of the room.

Another boy snorted while shaking his head, "The thing is I'm scared to see her _actually_ pissed off."

A gun shot rang out, blanketing the room in silence, only for an uttered curse to be heard before footsteps were heard running down the hallway.

"Is there a sale going on in the shopping district today?"

* * *

Natsume heard the gunshot and had booked it down the hallway, following the echo of explosions that followed it. When she made it to the courtyard it was to find Tsuna in his underwear and the silver haired boy from yesterday standing in front of him. She had come at the tail end of both the fight and conversation and all she could do was stare between the three people.

"Hi," was all she managed to say as she stepped out into the yard and began to pick up Tsuna's discarded clothes. Her hands shook as she gathered all her brother's things, her heart beating loud in her ears, she was happy she wasn't here to see what resulted of the Dying Will Bullet, but it was the same as hearing it from afar. "Put these on Tuna-fish."

That pet name brought her brother back to life in her eyes, even if it was a silly nick name she had given him when they were younger, but it was something that brought her back to her senses with him. His eyes snapped to hers, a weak smile – more a grimace – on his face as he took his clothes from her.

"You're the tenth's sister?" grouched out the silver haired teen, fingers pulling away the cigarette he had in his mouth. His right hand formed a fist, putting it over his heart as he inclined his head to her, "I will protect you and your family with my life!"

Natsume didn't get a chance to question that, when Tsuna all but silenced her, shaking his head as to not question it. She heaved a great sigh, hand going through her hair, and decided that keeping quiet was better for now.

"Oi Sawada! We have a bone to pick with you!" came a familiar voice, although a little nasally as he held his hand over his nose, "Can't let a little bitch like you think you can do what you want!"

"EEHH? Natsume what did you do!?" Squealed Tsuna as he grabbed his sister's shoulder. All the girl did was shrug her brother off, turning her attention to the seniors and gave them a toothy smile.

"I just don't appreciate you badmouthing me or my brother," said Natsume, hands lacing behind her back, eyes staring into the older boy, who seemed to hesitate. The bandana wearing teen didn't get a chance to say anything as the silver haired boy stepped up, glaring at the senior's.

"Leave this to me."

"Gokudera-san! _Don't use dynamite_!"

And that was the official introduction of one Gokudera Hayato.

 _xi_

 _Almost two weeks have gone by since Reborn appeared. And Tsuna, whether he wants to admit or not has shown so much potential._

 _Was I so blind to my own brother? For not noticing this potential in him? There was something else at work, but I couldn't recall – did something happen to us when we were younger? When Pap used to be around more, especially with Papa Nono?_

 _The old man…..did they do something to Tsuna?_

… _..Is it possible that I could be the same?_

* * *

Tsuna and Gokudera were off doing who knows what, leaving her home with her mother. Natsume threaded her fingers through her hair, separating it into three sections and began to weave a braid that ended mid back. Twirling a fly away, she idly noted that she needed a haircut, but pushed that thought to the side when she heard the door open.

"Reborn," she greeted unenthusiastically seeing who it was and returned to what she had been doing - lazing about the couch.

"Get up, Natsume~"

She heard it coming, then felt a pain against her thigh, causing her to sit up with a cry. The sandy haired girl stared down at the hitman, whose eyes were twinkling with amusement, a green rod in his hand that morphed back into Leon.

"You okay Tsu-chan?"

"Fine mam!" she said, her voice carrying into her mother's room. "What was that for you –" another smack against her leg had her getting up and backing away from the demon child.

"Tsuna's beginning his training, it's time to start yours up too!" chirped the babe as he pulled out a small book from within his suit jacket. He placed the book on the coffee table, along with a necklace. "Read that and then try on the necklace."

That said the babe left, making his way upstairs as she stared in confusion at him and then at the book on the table. She sat back down, reaching out for the book, her fingers carefully tracing over the cover. There was no title and flipping through the book she realized the pages were blank, about to go upstairs and question Reborn a piece of paper fell from one of the papers and fell underneath the couch.

With a small groan, the girl put the book down as she knelt to reach for the note. Not realizing it, her hand had briefly touched the clear crystal. Within the crystal emerged an indigo flame its edges turning an amber color as it glowed bright.

"Got it!"

Her hand moved and the glow was gone.

* * *

"Thank whoever found out Nezu was a fraud," spoke Natsume as she sat around the table they pulled up in Tsuna's room, "That man was an _ass_."

"Language," chastised Tsuna as he poked her with the end of his pencil, before going back to doodling on the edges of his assignment. "I hope the substitutes will be better though."

"I'm sure they'll find a competent sensei for us, tenth!"

"It's Tsuna, Gokudera-san, please!"

Natsume rolled her eyes as the two fell into another small, rather one sided argument. Gokudera had been over since lunch and the trio had decided to finish up whatever assignments they hadn't finished at school yesterday.

"Tenth is tenth," the silver haired teen was firm in calling Tsuna by his title before he even got it. The sandy haired girl could understand why he did it, but it was a bit arrogant of both him and Tsuna to continue to do so. Plus shouldn't the subordinate listen to the boss?

"Okay stop," she set her pencil down and clasped her hands together in front of her. This argument had gone on more times than she had wanted to count and she was properly fed up with it. "Call him Tsuna, Gokudera-san, and once he is o _fficially,_ " she stressed the word out, looking into his eyes to prove her point, " _Then_ you can call him tenth."

There was a slight pause, where the boy shifted around, though his gaze did not waver from hers. It was a slight nod of his head that she got, but it was enough.

"Alright, if I ever hear that argument _again_ ," she didn't finish her sentence, letting it linger over the two boys heads as she gave them a sharp smile. A peaceful quiet fell upon the trio after that; Natsume finished her work, Tsuna got as far as he had wanted too – even with Gokudera's assistance to just finish it all up. So the girl excused herself, taking her things with her.

The sound of a bell tinkling only alerted everyone that Emi was trailing after her and when the two teen boys heard the door shut, Gokudera turned to Tsuna with a grave look.

"Rumors state that your sister is scary, Ten- Tsuna-san!" Gokudera hastily corrected, his eyes looking up to the closed door across the hall.

Tsuna laughed sheepishly, a hand coming up to run through his hair. "Ah yeah, Tsume can be a bit intimidating," a smile was left on his face as he rested his elbows on the low table, his brows furrowing a little as he thought over it, "She used to be worse when we were little, but its calmed down, I honestly don't know why she's been acting up again."

Gokudera hummed at that answer as he began to pack his own things. It was a Sunday night, so he had to make sure he had at least s _ome f_ ood to eat before all the grocery stores closed. Plus the tenth needed his rest, what with tomorrow being Monday and the cycle of monotony that was school beginning again, they would all need it.

"Maybe it's a woman thing?"

If it was, he would definitely not be crossing her any time soon. He already knew what that was like.

 _xii_

 _It'd been days since I had sleep without worrying about anything. It was welcome for once and I could feel myself – well I felt more like myself than I had in a while. Weird as it was, Jasmine's memories began to fade little by little and maybe it all was my imagination?_

 _All I know is I never felt better._

* * *

Monday had passed without disturbance as had the following days of school, which had left Natsume feeling rather off.

' _Were there so many days not spoken of?_ ' her mind tended to stray during her math lessons, something that she knew better than to let happen. But Aoba-sensei's voice was very soothing and calming, and the way the sun hit her desk just practically begged for her to stretch out and take a nap. _'And Reborn tends to snoop around, instead of taking a direct approach like I remember.'_

She preferred not to think about certain things during the day, only allowing it when she was alone to let her thoughts stray. But lately even at night, it had been harder for her to recall – and how odd was that, just recently she recalled everything so clearly, now it was as if it was all going away.

As if someone was –

"Sawada!" called the short haired teacher, hand on his hip as he stared at her, "Could you tell us the quadratic formula?"

Natsume was startled out of her thoughts and her brief hesitation caused the teacher to sigh, yet before he could even scold her, the answer had rolled off her tongue. Aoba nodded, approving the girls answer and turned back to the board to right out the equation.

"As Sawada has informed us, the quadratic formula is…." Aoba's voice trailed off as she made herself seem like she was paying attention, but could also chance dazing off without getting caught a second time.

Her brows furrowed as she steadied her pencil in her right hand, idly drawing light circles and filling them in.

' _What was I thinking about again?'_

* * *

Thursday had been another calm day. Gokudera had once again skipped school, this time to restock on his 'supplies' and Tsuna had more of a spring in his step than usual. She poked at him, jokingly asking him if he finally got a girlfriend, to which her fluffy haired brother blushed.

"A popular kid came to me for advice," he responded, his cheeks still tinged slightly pink, as he avoided another poke to his side.

"That Yamamoto kid?" piped up a squeaky voice, causing Tsuna to squeal in surprise and Natsume to bite her cheek as she clamped down on her own.

"H-how'd you know!" stuttered Tsuna, almost flipping out in the middle of the street. His sister grabbing at the back of his shirt stopped him from almost getting hit by a passerby.

"Can we not discuss this here?" her annoyance was clear, but sadly she was ignored.

"We are _not_ turning my classmate into another mafia member!" argued Tsuna, as he crossed his arms in front of him. "Plus he's totally set on baseball! I can't take that away from him!"

Not used to being ignored, Natsume waited it out for the two, counting down how long it would take Reborn to whip out – _was that a flame thrower?!_

"HIIEE! REBORN NO!" and Tsuna took off, probably making it home on record time.

"Do you think that was-" c _lick_ "Oh hey! I didn't - REBORN!"

Watching the twins flee from him in terror would never get old. The tiny hitman shook his head as Leon transformed back into a chameleon – honestly did those two think he would really set them on fire? With a slight bounce to his step, Reborn continued his casual walk through Namimori's streets, all the while thinking that – yes he would set the two on fire, if only to stress the importance of questioning his motives.

Then again, Tsuna questioning and speaking against him was better than the boy just outright denying responsibility. The hitman frowned as he thought about the older twin, the girl had been reading the book he had given her, and he doubted she understood _why_ he had done so.

"Seems like I still have to put these kids through their paces, Leon."

All the chameleon did was blink in response.

* * *

 _Constructive Criticism will be well received. There's a constant back and forth with Natsume's past life being real or not and soon you will have an answer for that. I'm sure its a pretty hard concept to grasp and to continue to live day to day life with._

 _Anyway._

 _Enjoy~_

Sorugao


	4. II

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.**

Any mistakes please let me know, I've proofread this, but I'm not the best.

* * *

Natsume had been called out of class and didn't question it. It wouldn't be the first time, perhaps word had gotten to the counselors of what had happened between her and the three seniors and they wanted to have a talk with her.

Being taken into one of the rooms in the office, she expected Fumiko-sensei, who was an absolute delight to talk to and understood her (over)protective tendencies she had over her brother. What she got was Reborn, wearing an outrageous costume, wild beard and hair included.

The teen gapped, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to say something, but ultimately decided against it and closed her mouth.

"I assume you know who I am?" questioned the disguised Reborn, who sat in the chair, legs crossed and his hands laced together atop his knee. "Well Natsume-chan, if I may call you that, I called you here to speak over the book I gave you a couple of days ago."

She cleared her throat, "I – ah – wouldn't this be better discussed at home?"

A loud smack resounded against the room, Reborn having pulled a ruler out of nowhere and slapping it against the desk. His eyes gleamed with danger and Natsume feared for her life. She felt how heavy the air became and was glad when it came to pass seconds later. She could breathe again, could feel how her nails had pressed into the palm of her hand from how tightly she had clenched them.

"We will discuss it here, so please Natsume-chan _enlighten_ me on your readings."

The girl gulped and took a shaky breathe, "E-Elena de' Medici was a very prompt supporter of Vongola, she had joined shortly after it was formed," she licked her lips as she paused, thinking on what else she had gotten from the old book. "She was interested in mysticism and has left a detailed account about her beliefs and experiences in it. What she experienced in her time with Vongola changed her earlier thoughts and led her to delve deeper into her research – flames being one of the subject she studied."

Her hands had stilled as she explained the book, her shoulders were less tense and there was a gleam of excitement in her eye; all this Reborn took notice of and suppressed a smile.

"The book was originally blank, how are you reading it?"

"Oh," the girl gave him a sheepish grin, one eerily similar to her brother's, "That's something I can't say, but it did have something to do with the necklace you gave me." She tilted her head back a little as she reached within her shirt and pulled out the clear crystal he had given her. "Clear quartz?" At the hitman's nod she continued, "It focuses energy and its one of the few that activates and balances energy," she closed her eyes at this and concentrated on the crystal she held in her hand, opening her eyes she gave a brief smile before it flitted away, "I don't know if it's supposed to do that, but it's similar to that flame that appears on Tsuna's forehead isn't it?"

Silence descended between the two, Reborn seeming uninterested as he looked at the glowing indigo and amber flames. In the end, the babe nodded at her answer, a sigh escaping him as he uncrossed his legs.

"You're a smart girl, Natsume," the hitman said as he hopped down from the chair and came around the desk to stand beside her, "Tsuna is very lucky to have you as a sister." She fiddled with the necklace, looking away from Reborn's intense look, "Look at me girl," she didn't want to but she did.

Hazel clashed with onyx, Natsume barely keeping herself from fidgeting, her discomfort showing clearly on her face.

Reborn smiled, eyes closing as he did.

"You'll be a good shadow for Tsuna when the time comes."

And he left it at that.

* * *

Natsume had been passing in front of Tsuna's class when she heard one of the boys announce that Yamamoto was going to jump off the roof. The students spilled out, all rushing to get to the roof, some muttering that this was a bad prank and others looking more interested in just being a part of the gossip.

Sasagawa trailed behind, Tsuna following just a ways. He hadn't noticed her, but she did notice how pale he seemed – almost gray in color – how wide and unseeing his eyes were as he headed in the direction of everyone else.

"Sensei won't mind if I stay behind longer," she murmured to herself as she caught up to Tsuna, her hand reaching out for her twins and giving a light squeeze. He seemed to jerk awake, his breath hitching as he turned to her.

"We need to hurry," he uttered, taking the steps two at a time when they got there, nearly tripping Natsume.

"Hey calm down, why are you so worked up?"

"It's my fault," he responded, his brows furrowing as they stepped out onto the roof, his brown eyes too serious, "I gave him bad advice and he hurt himself because of me."

She frowned and shook her head, her hand tightening around her brothers, "Hey he hurt himself and this has nothing to do with you." The look he gave her, it made her pause, and he took that moment to slip his hand out of hers and towards the chain link fence. She was gaping, her face a mix of confusion and understanding. She clutched her hand to her chest, keeping an eye on her brother as he spoke with the baseball star.

"Sawada-chan, are you okay?"

"Sasagawa-san," greeted Natsume, barely turning her head to look at the girl who stood beside her, "Yes, I – TSUNA!"

Something had gone wrong, Tsuna had been turning around, Yamamoto had called for him, the fence _broke_ and the two were falling. She barely caught Tsuna's surprised gasp, why was everything moving so slow? Why was her heartbeat so loud all of sudden?

A hand gripped hers, someone was calling to her, pulling her away.

' _Was that a gunshot?'_

For once she hoped it was.

"Breathe Sawada-chan," uttered Sasagawa softly, her hand rubbing the sandy haired girls back. Cries of outrage and disgust were heard, the complaints of it having been a terrible prank, but all sounding relieved. "Do you want to go to the restroom?"

Natsume cleared her throat; her hand squeezing Sasagawa's. She breathed out a response and the auburn haired girl accompanied her to the restroom, making sure to keep them ahead of the crowd so nobody would see her. She eyed the shorter girl beside her and she could see why her brother liked her.

Sasagawa Kyoko wasn't just cute; she had a kind heart and was always willing to help others around her. And as she pushed open the restroom door and turned around to give her some sort of privacy, Natsume couldn't help but feel her throat tighten up. Her eyes were shiny from the unshed tears; her lower lip was bleeding slightly from all the constant biting she had subjected to it in the last couple minutes.

The hazel eyed girl shook her head, turned on the water and scooped up some water to splash on her face. Grabbing a paper towel, she kept her eyes on her reflection as she patted her skin dry. She looked like Tsuna, but the coloring was all wrong.

While his hair was a chocolatey brown, hers was lighter. His eyes were a light brown as well, large and rounded like their mothers, hers were her fathers – a dark hazel color, not as sharp, but smaller and narrower than Tsuna's.

"Sawada-chan how do you feel?"

Her lips quirked up at that, she saw herself swallow, her eyes shining brighter. Tilting her head back she released a sigh, her shoulders felt heavy and tight, she was thirteen why did she feel so tired already?

"I'll be fine Sasagawa-san," she answered, turning away from the mirror and trying her best to give the girl a sincere smile, but failing as it came out looking like a grimace. "Thank you."

"Eh?" that seemed to have taken the other girl by surprise, her cheeks turning pink as she looked away from her. "I-it was no trouble, really! I know how worrying brothers can be."

Natsume didn't mean to bark out a laugh, her palm coming up to rub a bit too hard against her eye as her mouth looked less sad and the corners of eyes crinkled with an honest smile.

The girl reciprocated with a bright smile, her cheeks still flushed as she looked over Tsuna's sister. She wasn't as mean looking when she smiled, thought the auburn hair girl as the two left the restroom and walked back to their respective classrooms. They waved goodbye, Natsume thanking her once more before splitting up.

' _Maybe she just needs a friend?'_

* * *

She had gathered her things as soon a she entered the classroom and left, not bothering to look for Tsuna or caring that someone was dogging her steps.

"Sawada."

She stopped, eyes closing as she inhaled deeply and slowly letting it out in ten counts.

"Hibari-san," her tone was clipped, not bothering to at least act decently to the older boy. Looking over her shoulder, lips pulling into a sneer, and her chin held high, she glanced over at the Disciplinary Committee President.

"Leaving school grounds early is not permitted, herbivore." The tonfa in his hand glinted in the light as he slowly raised it up, not bothering to get into a fighting pose knowing she – like the other weaklings – would just cower and return to class.

Her scoff and the way she rolled her eyes as she resumed to walk away was enough of an answer for him. His strides were longer as he cut her off, tonfa held up against her face, his eyes narrowing menacingly.

"Then consider me not here," her voice was odd, almost soothing but stilted. There was a command somewhere in her words, one that urged him to listen to her. Hibari's brows furrowed, shaking his head slightly to clear the ringing words out.

The prefect sniffed as he relaxed his grip on his weapon and continued to make his way down the hallway, not noticing anything strange, yet feeling as if something questionable had just happened.

* * *

 _xiii_

 _Nana hadn't questioned me coming home early (or alone), though I'm pretty sure she could definitely tell something had happened._

 _I had made my way up to my room and just let myself fall onto the bed, wrapping myself into a blanket cocoon and just let my thoughts drift._

 _Before this whole situation, my emotions were less all over the place. Now they were as unpredictable as the situations that had been happening. I could feel myself acting up much easier – punching the seniors wasn't something I would have normally done (even if it was warranted, they hadn't put a hand on Tsuna or me; they were just trying to show who was boss)._

 _I got along with Reborn a little better. Even if I was still miffed with him about shooting Tsuna that first time. That was the stuff of bad dreams and something that I wish wouldn't continue to happen. I knew it was inevitable though at least up until a certain point._

 _What ever happened to that sudden clarity I had?_

 _I feel like I'm starting to grasp at straws._

* * *

The glint in Reborn's eye ( _the sadistic, little demon baby_ ) gave her the creeps, especially when he had turned that gaze on her.

"What's the answer for four, Natsume?"

She looked down at her paper, reading said question of her history quiz, ' _When did the Allied Powers occupy Japan and when did it end?'_. The teen was about to answer, only to be rudely interrupted by the mad cackling of a child. She eyed Reborn, wondering if it had come from him, but even he didn't bat an eyelash as it continued on and seemed much more intent on getting an answer from her.

"The answer is B."

"Correct."

"Is no one going to question the kid outside our window?"

"Tsuna don't be ridiculous -" She turned to her brother, about to tell him to stop being dramatic, only to be stunned at the truth that was before her. In the tree just outside her brother's bedroom window, was a madly grinning child crouched on a tree branch, with a gun in his hand. "Who the hell is giving children weapons!?"

An explosion followed her exclamation, one that was instigated by Reborn himself as he flung a round shape back out the window towards the young cow-looking child. There was a thud, followed by a squeal of pain, followed by a calmness that the twins knew would end a terrible, fiery death. Natsume made a noise at the back of her throat, her face falling into her hands as a headache began to form.

"I'm going to go take some medicine," she murmured, excusing herself from the current lesson.

Opening the bedroom door only gave the menace that had been outside crying a chance in. Instead of letting him barge in like he had wanted to, Natsume scooped up the child and held him out at arms length. The screaming died down once he realized his kicks weren't reaching her, nor was he able to grab at her with his flailing arms,

The kid went rigid, his head tilting forward, sniffling accompanying the motion before he started outright crying.

"L-Lambo just wanna p-play," he cried, beginning to move again to get out of her grasp..

"Ahh," the pain in her head seemed to be clouding her judgement, but she brought the child close so that she could balance him on her hip and began to bounce the child as she had seen mother's do in the markets when their kids began to fuss. It probably wasn't right to give the tantrum attention, but what the hell did she know? "You said your name was Lambo?"

At the slight nod, the child continued crying, "Lambo w-wants to play with R-Reborn."

The demon spawn in the room was very much capable of violently hurting her and her brother, Reborn would absolutely murder this kid.

Safe to say she wasn't so mean to let that happen.

"How about we go downstairs with my mama? _Y'know_ she would love to meet such a cute boy like yourself."

The tiny, unbelieving really that escaped Lambo had her pause for a moment, then she pushed on and took it upon herself to take the boy downstairs and introduce him to her mother.

"Oh so you were the one who I saw run past me," Nana smiled kindly as she was wont to do when met with a teary eyed child. She took him from Natsume's arms, which the girl appreciated, leaving said girl to rummage through the cupboard near the entrance of the kitchen for her medicine. Quiet whispers and giggles came from the table where Nana had taken the boy, sitting him on the table top and holding his hand gently so that he wouldn't be too intimidated with her.

"Your Japanese is very good Lambo-kun," Nana complimented the boy who blushed. "Can you answer me this, where is your family? I'm sure they're worried about you."

The young boy pouted, tears forming in his eyes as soon as Nana's quesiton left her mouth. The woman was taken back and seemed to flounder a bit before she brought Lambo into her lap and let him cry into her chest. Natsume made eye contact with her mother and the woman gestured with her chin to take the seat beside her. The two waited out for the crying to subside and Lambo's broken answer to that made Nana's cheeks turn pink with anger.

"They sent you off alone? And to play like that?" there was an edge to the sweet voice and Natsume knew if her mother ever met Lambo's family, they would receive a tongue-lashing that would make them regret everything they'd done to the child in her arms. "Tsu-chan, go back to your studies, I'll watch Lambo-kun here and figure out what we can do for him."

The young teen nodded, excusing herself and heading back upstairs. She returned to Tsuna's room, which looked smokier than it had before, but she didn't quesiton it, already knowing that her brother's nerves had gotten the best of him and had him fumbling for answers if by the wide-eyed ' _help me'_ look he sent her when she walked in.

"Hey Reborn, what do you know about a family named Bovino?"

The current lecture of maths subsided as Reborn seemed to think it a better question than the ones Tsuna was currently failing at. Of course finding out that the Bovino was mafia, wasn't part of the plan.

"If they focus on creating and enhancing weapons, why did they send Lambo to kill you?"

The hitman shrugged, not really caring why a weak famiglia like Bovino would do that. He of course would be reporting this new development to Nono and see what the Vongola Don would want done.

* * *

The wooden floors shown after having all her things picked up and put away in their correct place. The books were back in the shelf she kept in the corner of her room, her clothes actually folded or hung up in her closet, and the various amount of blankets folded and put away into the plastic pink chest where she used to keep her toys.

She blew a raspberry at that, as much as it had held all her toys (and the ones she would hide from Tsuna) the chest was well worn and in need of replacement.

Something curled itself between her legs, a soft chirp followed the constant motion and once Emi had her attention Natsume thought perhaps she could make it into something for her cat. A whining meow made her take that thought back, instead she opened the door to unleash the black cat into the rest of the house.

"Tsu-chan you cleaned your room?"

The teen looked over her shoulder and nodded at her mother, who then stepped in and sat herself on the bed. Natsume gave her mother a questioning look, to which the woman responded by patting the spot beside her.

Closing the door, she went and sat down, not saying anything as she waited for her mother to begin speaking.

"My, my," Nana began, looking over the pictures that her daughter had hung up on her walls. "Time sure has gone by hasn't it Tsu-chan?"

Not knowing how to respond, Natsume dipped her head in agreement, leaning against her mother and placing her chin on the woman's shoulder. "I'm taller than you and Tsuna now." That caused Nana to chuckle, a warm sound that soothed the younger girl.

"And bigger by the day!" responded the older woman, her own head tilting to rest against her daughters. The two stayed silent, just taking in each other's company, it had been awhile since they had spent any time together – especially since Lambo had appeared. "I only wish your father were here to see you two, I just know he would be so proud."

Nana felt Natsume stiffen slightly, before sagging completely against her. She wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. Her eldest had always been withdrawn, it wasn't until recently that the girl had made a friend – or at least someone that considered _her_ a friend.

Looking down at the girl, Nana could feel her heart clench. Her little girl looked so similar to Iemitsu and she sometimes acted like him that it hurt. She would smile, claim everything fine and continue on with herself. The way she would look after Tsuna, even after Nana herself, sometimes worried her.

"Papa hasn't called in a while," commented Natsume quietly, her fingers pinching the material of her sweats as she ignored the anger forming in her chest.

But Nana heard it and exhaled softly, the tension slowly returning to her own shoulders.

"I'm sure his work just has all his attention," was all the brunette woman could say, before succumbing to her own thoughts. Iemitsu had made it a point to at least call twice a month, he hadn't called since the end of July and it was nearly October. "How about we go out, ne? Just us two girls!"

She could see Natsume perk up at that and the small smile she received made Nana relax.

"Can we go to Kimiko's? I'll pay!" Not waiting for her mother's confirmation, the girl got up and began to pick out jeans and a shirt, leaving Nana to shake her head at her sudden chipper mood.

"I'll wait for you downstairs then."

Nearly five minutes later and the two were locking up, leaving a spare key for Tsuna in one of the potted plants that adorned one of the windowsills. The two set out, walking the way to the plaza where they would window shop and maybe pick out a couple things that they needed.

"Mama?"

Oh? Her eldest rarely called her that, usually opting to drop the last letter or two. She hummed in acknowledgment, tilting her head to look at her daughter who looked at her with such a serious look, she almost stopped walking.

"Do you ever feel lost?"

She was about to respond with an assurance that she knew where she always was, but the way Natsume gazed at her made those false words shrivel up on her tongue.

"I suppose there are times," Nana responded after a couple minutes, thinking on how she should phrase her next words, "But I usually find myself, you and your brother do a good job of keeping me grounded."

Natsume nodded at that, turning her gaze away from Nana and looking forward. They had made good time in their walking, she could see the shops just a little further down the street and she smiled to herself.

"I love you mama."

The older woman gushed, her eyes brightening as she looped her arm with her daughters and brought her closer to her side.

"Mama loves you more, Tsu-chan~"

With her face flushed pink and feeling a little embarrassed, Natsume felt better than she had in the past couple of days.

* * *

Yamamoto laughed nervously, his hand coming up to rub the back of his head.

' _Man oh man, she's intimidating.'_

Natsume stood before him, Lambo completely at ease in her arms as she locked eyes with the tall baseball player. Tsuna stood on the side, breathing heavily with Gokudera beside him looking between the two.

"You know," she began, looking away from him and eyeing the other two, "I just won't question it anymore."

She held out her hand to Tsuna, who looked at said appendage confused. With an annoyed scoff, she tersely said, "Phone."

"For what?" he asked as he opened his backpack and pulled out a flip phone, handing it over to her. The look he got from her was one of irritation and he knew she was still upset with him over what had happened on the roof.

"I'm going to call mam to come pick up this one," her tone implied that he was being dense and it almost made him want to snap at her.

He hadn't meant what happened on the roof to happen, it was a complete accident. Yet here she was holding it against him and Yamamoto. The poor baseball player took the brunt of her bitchiness, often choosing to overlook whatever Natsume directed at him.

"Here," she tossed the phone back to him, which he barely caught. She turned around and headed towards the school gates, leaving the trio behind.

"Well I'm going off to practice!" chirped Yamamoto, he patted Tsuna on the shoulder (causing said boy to slightly lose is balance) and nodded at Gokudera as he took off, leaving the trio down to two.

"I kind of feel bad for him," spoke up Gokudera as the two headed inside the school, Tsuna trailing beside him, looking over his shoulder staring at his sister's sillouette near the entrance.

"Yeah," he responded gloomily, "He doesn't deserve that."

"I understand her anger as well," said the silver haired boy glancing at the brunette beside him, "She'll get over it, tenth, just keep your distance for now."

"I've been doing that for the past week," exclaimed Tsuna, scuffing his shoe against the floor as they stood outside the classroom. "I just, I don't know."

A hand on his shoulder got him to look up and the sincere smile that was on the usually scowling boys face made Tsuna appreciate his friend at the moment.

"Sisters, they're supposed to be a pain in the ass aren't they?"

Tsuna's lips quirked up into a smile, shaking his head as he opened the door to the classroom. "A complete pain."

* * *

"You know Hibari-san, a girl might get the wrong idea if you keep showing up like this."

The comment was worth the look he gave her, though she refrained from showing her amusement until a later time. Maybe Sasagawa would appreciate what she had said?

"Sawada," Hibari all but growled out, his gray eyes narrowing further and causing a chill to run up her spine.

 _Danger._

She gave him a weak smile and tried to take off, only for him to block her way. She made a noise in the back of her throat, her anger starting to flare up.

"Then what is it, Hibari-san?"

He stared down at her and she met his gaze, quirking a brow as she crossed her arms beneath her chest. Her jaw was set and she was ready to try her hand at what she had done the other day, even if it left her feeling like crap.

The prefect sniffed down at her, "It seems you did have a reason to speak against the committee." That took her by surprise and she was sure it showed on her face, because he smirked down at her. "It will not do well to have people speaking against what should have been protecting them, no?"

She nodded, her eyes squinting a little as she tried to understand what he was getting at. It was like a light bulb moment and she levelled her own smirk at him, "Any problems and I'll just bring them to you, Hibari-san."

By the look on the dark haired boys face, he doubted that there would be any further problems within the committee.

"Get to class, Sawada."

All he got was a toothy smile in return.

* * *

"Sawada-chan want to have lunch with us?" came Sasagawa's voice from beside her. Blinking slowly, Natsume turned to look at the auburn haired girl, who gave her a cheery smile, and gestured to the dark haired girl beside her. "It'll be just Hana and I this time."

The last time she had invited Natsume to eat with a bigger group, the sandy haired girl had disappeared not even five minutes into having settled down. When Sasagawa went looking for she had found her back in class 1B sitting at her desk, with her head resting on her arms.

The slow nodded she received put the girl in a chipper mood as she led the other two out of the class and towards the courtyard, where they settled beneath the shade offered by one of the trees.

"So tomorrow's home economics we're making rice balls," Kurokawa brought up after a couple of minutes of silent eating. She didn't sound particularly happy about that, but the way Sasagawa turned to chat about it was probably why she did it.

"I don't know who I'll give mine too," she murmured, a blush creeping on her cheeks. Natsume and the other girl made eye contact, rolling their eyes at the auburn haired girls words. "Who would you give yours too, Sawada-chan?"

Said girl almost snorted, but she withheld it, "I'm going to eat mine and I'll probably save one for my mom."

Sasagawa pouted, "Mou, there's no one who you would give even one too?"

Natsume blinked at her friend's expression. She shook her head, reaching out to the girland ruffling her hair, "Oh Sasagawa-san," she said mournfully as the girl knocked her hand away, "Apart from me not wanting to share my food, the boys are idiots – they'll probably get in over their heads."

Not that most of the guys in class would have taken anything from her.

"Hana-chan, what about you!" the girls attention was fixed to the other girl who made a similar response to Natsume, who all but grinned.

"I think you're just too hung up on romance, Sasagawa-san."

Kurokawa made a noise of agreement.

"Please call me Kyoko, Sawada-chan," that threw Natsume off, who gave Kurokawa a look, who shrugged and said, "Call me Hana."

The look Kyoko levelled her with and the motion Hana made to just go with it, let Natsume relax a little, although she was still a bit uncomfortable.

"Then I'm just Natsume."

* * *

Thursday came and went without incident – well except if Tsuna eating everyone's rice balls counted as a no incident – Nana and Lambo had enjoyed the only ones Tsuna hadn't managed to get his hands on.

"They were good, Tsu-chan," her mother told her, with Lambo cheering in agreement.

"Yeah, _ane_ should make more!"

"Maybe on Saturday?"

The five year old whooped, his energy catching onto Nana who giggled at the enthusiastic child. Lambo had come around last Sunday. He probably though he had been threatening Reborn but ended up being more of a threat to himself. Hyperactive as he was, it kept Nana busy and distracted from the usually empty house, which Natsume was glad for.

"But you have to promise me not to wonder around on your own anymore."

The young child pouted at that, quickly overcome by a sneaky smile or what he probably considered to be sneaky.

" _Ane_ has to play with me then!"

Nana and Natsume shared a laugh at the triumphant look on Lambo's face, the Sawada girl accepted his demand.

"Go sit on the couch, I'll go grab my bag and we'll do whatever you want."

"Drawing?" he seemed slightly reluctant to ask, his bravado lost for a split second, only to return in full force at her nod.

"If that's what you want."

He scurried off, behaving himself for the while as he waited for her.

"Anything specific you want for dinner, Tsu-chan?"

The girl thought about it, "I'll eat anything you make, mam."

"Salisbury steak then?"

Nana caught Natsume's face and was about to suggest something else, "I think Tsuna will like that." The woman gave her eldest a knowing look, to which she responded by pouting. "I'll eat a little bit."

"I'll make a side for you."

"Anything with potatoes!" called the girl over her shoulder as she exited the kitchen.

Nana shook her head as she heard Natsume begin to explain a drawing game to Lambo. She would drop a hint or two to her knuckleheaded son, letting him know that his sister was the one who had suggested his favorite.

"Kami-sama help my children, they can be so hopeless sometimes."

* * *

 **AN:** And the waiting game is over for this chapter! Perhaps it seems like its moved along too fast at certain points, I'm letting things that were pointed out in canon remain more background and they'll be brought up if it ends up crossing Natsume's path. Most of the things will be hinted at happening and I'm really trying my best not to make this to similar to what happened in the manga - certain situations will of course turn out different than they should have or have happened in another way.

A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted this story, you guys truly do inspire me to write more.

Comments or concerns let me know?

Also let me know what I can do better because I'm pretty much just trying (and hoping) to make this sound right. Other than that, hope you guys enjoyed!

 _Sorugao_


	5. III

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for the OC.**

* * *

October first was a Sunday.

It was also the day Reborn had corralled both twins into one room (Natsume's room seeing as it wasn't messy and it was always fun to kick Tsuna around). One twin gave him an annoyed look, the other whined as they picked themselves off the floor.

"What was that for?"

"Talk."

The two blinked at him in confusion.

Reborn shook his head and held up Leon, who transformed into a gun and pointed it at Natsume, whose eyes widened.

"You two need to talk and I'll mediate, I also have no qualms over shooting either of you," the click of the safety being taken off made the two pale.

Tsuna sat himself on the edge of her bed, arms crossed against his chest as he turned to look at his sister, who had moved from underneath her blankets and mirrored him.

' _Sometimes it's really creepy how alike we are.'_

Though the way her mouth was pursed, he knew Natsume wasn't going first – threat or no threat.

"I know you're mad," he started, trying his best to ignore Reborn's heavy stare. "And I understand why, I could have seriously been hurt, but I wasn't."

He saw her eyes narrow, how her jaw clenched as she bit down on what she was about to say. Tsuna stood up soon after Natsume did, but he backed up as she approached him. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, how her cheeks were becoming splotchy from her anger.

"You think," she prodded her finger against his chest, "Just because you weren't hurt that I should be fine with it?" Her voice was cracking, her hands were shaking. It was too early in the morning for this, things had gotten better – or at least Natsume had thought – but no, now she was being forced with this? " _How are you so stupid?!"_

Tsuna frowned, his brow scrunching up as he set a similar stance to Natsume. "You don't need to call me stupid, you know."

"You're stupid because you don't understand!"

Reborn had slipped out of the room, realizing that neither sibling was paying any attention, but he stayed just outside the door in case things escalated between the two.

"Then tell me instead of just calling me stupid!"

Her breath caught in her throat. This was what she hadn't wanted happening; she had told herself she would be strong, hadn't she? For Tsuna's sake. She buried her head in her hands, willing the tears that slipped to disappear to no avail.

"Natsume," ever the gentle one of the two, Tsuna reached out for his sister, only for her to pull away from him. He saw her tears even as she tried to hastily wipe them. "Come on, don't get like this."

"You say you understand, Tuna," she mumbled, a slightly hiccup escaping her. "But you don't, because I've seen you die and come back like nothing." Her voice trembled as she continued, the tears falling freely now, "You don't understand how I keep having dreams of you _dying_ and not coming back and I'm left alone."

"You act as if it's nothing and it makes me so mad because you don't get it and when you fell off the roof –"her voice caught, she didn't dare look Tsuna in the eye. "I thought you were gone Tsuna, if it hadn't been for Reborn…"

Silence fell, only her breathing interrupted the silence.

"Tsume,"

"I'm useless, Tsunayoshi," she spoke up softly, cutting him off. "I can't watch over you like I used too."

* * *

Natsume had left the room as soon as she uttered those words, hurrying to the restroom to clean up, leaving Tsuna alone. The brunette had been rooted to the spot, realizing that in the three weeks since Reborn had been there, not once had the two spoken of what was happening in their life.

While still rejecting it, he knew deep down that he had already accepted his fate. For once he felt like he was free instead of chained and he didn't know if that was because of the small rift beginning to form between him and his sister or something else.

The teen felt guilty, knowing he had caused (not for the first time) his sister to cry, for making her feel this way. He was always the one that needed protecting and she was ready to stand up and take anything meant for him.

"I'm sure she would gladly trade places if it meant you not getting hurt."

"Reborn?" the boy frowned, looking down at the hitman who stood at the doorway, hands tucked away in his pockets as if nothing had happened. The baby sighed and made a 'follow me' motion to Tsuna. The small child led them back to Tsuna's room, where the brunette sat down on his bed as Reborn jumped up to it.

"You should go downstairs and ask your mother if she needs help."

Tsuna almost decided he wasn't going to listen to Reborn, but with a defeated sigh and knowing how his sister was, he knew pushing her for more right now wouldn't be for the best. With a resigned _'fine'_ the boy left and headed down to find his mother, leaving the tiny hitman in the entrance of Natsume's room.

A chirp was heard coming from underneath the bed and Reborn waved at the cat that emerged, its amber eyes looking at him before dismissing him as not important. The black cat passed him, its tail flicking about as it headed towards the restroom where its owner had locked themselves in. Reborn watched as the creature began to paw at the door, a soft meow escaping it as it reached underneath the door to the other side.

The door opened slightly, letting the cat in but didn't close back on itself.

Curious, Reborn stepped forward and peeked into the restroom only to see the eldest Sawada sitting on the floor, cuddling her cat to her chest, quiet cries leaving her. Frowning Reborn pushed the door open further only to be taken back as the ceiling of the restroom caught his attention.

Above him played out various scenarios, ones that he had seen and others that he knew to not be true. All of them ended with either Tsuna dying or an unfamiliar brunette girl being felled by a gunman. He stepped closer to Natsume who had looked up as he placed a hand on her elbow, he didn't make any sudden movements aside from briefly flaring up his own flames causing his pacifier to glow.

"You're warm," he heard her utter, the mixed colors of her eyes peering down into his. Amber dominated her irises, while indigo colored the very outer edges and had spread out into her sclera – it made for an eerie look.

"Focus on letting go," he said, letting his flames flow to her. He felt a slight connection to her through the sky flames that she showed, but the mist quickly wrapped around it and turned it into something else. Above the images shifted and Reborn began to see things even _he_ didn't want to think about. " _Focus!_ "

The anger that had seeped into the voice of the usually mild tempered hitman startled the girl enough from her own grief that the images above shattered. Reborn retracted his flames and he could see the pieces falling before completely dispersing. Silence reigned in the bathroom, the only sound coming from the lone feline in the room.

Natsume looked away from Reborn's probing stare, fingers slowly coming up to brush against the top of Emi's head.

"It seems your seal broke completely."

A sniffle was all he got in response, which he didn't mind seeing as he had her attention again.

"And all this without the crystal on you," he thought aloud for the benefit of the girl, who nodded. "Continue to direct your energy and will into the crystal, it will help you focus as well as exhausting you of your flame so you won't have energy to do _this_ again."

The hitman tipped his fedora and began to walk away. He paused only when he heard her whispered words, the gasp that followed _almost_ made up for what he had allowed himself to do, yet he was still angry.

"I would suggest keeping that knowledge to yourself, Natsume."

* * *

The rest of the day had been a blur after that incident.

She had very briefly run into Bianchi, who happened to be Gokudera's sister to her surprise. The magenta haired woman had given her a pleasant smile, even if her eyes seemed a little too sharp. Tsuna had practically holed himself and Gokudera in his room after the boy had felt better (and his sister had mysteriously disappeared) and the few times he would catch sight of her, he would instantly shirk away.

It didn't bother her – okay maybe it did bother her a little. She supposed he was still trying to take in and process her crying and why she hadn't just come up to him as soon as he got over his 'death'. He wouldn't realize that in her mind being shot equaled instant death and not getting up, something Jasmine (and by extension her) had definitely experienced.

Sitting cross legged on her bed, Medici's book in her lap and the quartz being held between her fingers, Natsume tried to understand the following passage.

' _The flames that the Vongola Guardians are privy to seem to come from an experience of death. Of course there are the few who are able to manipulate there potential without that death experience._

 _It is supernatural – to the point of Godly – how these flames strengthen a person, to the point where one must wonder if the person defying death had an interaction with a powerful being not of the mortal plane._

 _They come in various colors, some darker or lighter than the others, enhancing specific traits that a person is capable of. Out of these seven, they unite under one where these individuals seem to find there peace.'_

The journal ( _not book, for it dictated much more personal thoughts of the writer_ ) of Elena de' Medici spoke of how she had been raised beside her brothers. Giovanni had at least had an interesting wife, even if the woman had been sick more often than not. Piero had obviously been raised as Cosimo's heir and from her writings the eldest brother had a penchant for rubbing it in her and the other bastard's face what he had been entitled to for being trueborn.

Elena obviously had been one of the few privileged females to be taught how to properly read and write but only to a certain extent. What interested Natsume about the woman was that even though she had been raised as a Catholic, Elena had quietly shunned it, only going through the movements to show that she was worthy of being kept instead of being sent to become a nun.

Awakening a power that would have been considered witchcraft caused her to flee before she could be sentenced to death. It was luck that she found someone similar to her and perhaps it had been the path decided by whoever had given her those powers to meet such a person.

Elena believed the flames to be a spiritual fire that was awakened in times of great need and a blessing given to those who had proven themselves before the unknown being.

Perhaps in her time this made Elena sound like a heretic, Natsume thought it rather brave of the woman to denounce all she knew. When Elena later delved into what could help a flame become stronger or how to keep it at a certain level by introducing crystals and how to use them as part of a ritual to help herself.

' _Witchcraft indeed,'_ thought the sandy haired girl as she turned the page.

Flicking her gaze to the quartz in her hand, Natsume gave a brief thought and a bright indigo flame appeared, encompassing the piece. She tried keeping the flame going while going through the next couple pages of the book, her finger tips brushing over the other blank pages revealing the script with a shimmer.

' _The indigo flame – I will call it Mist – has properties to create, both within the mind and outside. An exercise to try is to focus – a quartz crystal, specifically a clear one will help in this part – on extending the flame from and creating any shape or form._

 _Through trial and err, I had finally managed to create - - - -'_

The line finished there and that wasn't odd, it wouldn't be the first time Elena had left a passage unfinished. Thinking along the lines of the writer, Natsume wrapped her hand completely around the crystal and pictured it growing. Her eyes slid shut as she focused on giving the power she felt in her hand a form; the warmth in her hand slowly faded, replaced by a cool metal one. Opening her eyes she blinked at what appeared.

' _This is some Sailor Moon shit,'_ she thought as she twirled what could only be compared to the moon stick between her fingers. The metal pole was only a little over a foot long; at the top of it was the crystal she had been using, a dark purple color with flecks of amber revealing itself every now and then. Curious the girl flicked her wrist, a stray thought (along with a flash of purple) and everything in the room (including herself) was floating.

A shriek escaped her mouth as she realized she was up in the air, causing her to lose focus and fall back onto her bed only to bounce off. A pained groan left her, head slowly turning to the side to glare at the simple looking jewel in her hand only to let a whine escape her as she realized the mess her room had become.

"And I just cleaned too!"

* * *

Tsuna didn't know how to feel.

He felt guilty, yet bothered with Natsume. He knew she wouldn't understand the bullets like he had come to know them, wouldn't understand what they did for _him_ and how in a way it got him out of her shadow.

She meant well.

She had always taken care of him, stood up for him when he couldn't do for himself. Heck, even his mother wouldn't be who she was if it wasn't for his big sister. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if Natsume wasn't his sister, but he had feeling that he would have been much worse off than he currently was.

The walk to school the next day was a bit awkward and the teen knew better than to try to talk to his sister again. He had seen what happened when someone pushed Natsume (even if it was on his behalf) and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Still as she stalked past him and Reborn, her pace quick enough to stay ahead of him, but not to leave him behind, he hoped that she would come around herself and talk to him.

The brunette was so in his thoughts he almost bumped into the girl that was in front of him. He gave her a shy smile, murmuring his apologies and went to walk around her only for her to block his way.

"Excuse me?"

Smack.

"You don't pay attention to what this little angel does and you're also teaching him things like that?!"

Tsuna went to protest, only for his person to be grabbed by the girl and shaken as if he was a rag doll. His hands reached for her wrists so he could pull her away from him, only for her to grip tighten on the collar of his shirt.

He was seeing stars by the time she stopped, but then she was crying as someone pulled her away and he could hear Reborn offering to explain the situation.

"See it's my job to train Tsuna up as the 10th mafia boss –"there was a cry of 'you bastard', only for it be abruptly cut off as flesh hit flesh. Not really wanting to look, but wanting to know what happened, Tsuna looked up only to take a step back.

The girl had been pushed up against the wall by Natsume whose head was tilted slightly up, her eyes a little wide. Something pinged back to him and before he knew it his hands were wrapped around his sister's waist pulling her away from the other girl.

"Scram," snarled Natsume, trying to disentangle herself from her brother only for him to tighten his hold. With a squeak the girl had booked it down the street, leaving the three behind. At last he let go of his sister who turned to look at him, her left cheek bruised from where the girl had hit her, muttering underneath her breath, "You know normal people don't take it well when you say things like that Reborn."

He didn't know how to react to the situation, but seeing as his sister wasn't leaving his side, he took it in stride. Looking back over his shoulder, he had a feeling that wouldn't be the last of that girl either.

 _xiv_

 _A month has come and gone, I think I've already lost my mind._

 _Like is it possible for so much to happen in so little time?_

 _Did my past self – if she did exist, because honestly I think I'm just crazy at this point – do something and now I'm paying for it? She probably didn't, from what I've seen – remember? – she was just a simple girl who went to school and kind of tried up until her death._

 _Maybe that's why I have so many issues (lately) I mean I – her – didn't die peacefully. Maybe what Reborn said about this seal thing breaking is causing this whole mess and if so, I need to find a better way to control it._

 _I really hate this…._

 _..And all the feelings and emotions…._

 _Ugh, I just really,_ really _hate this._

* * *

Chaos reigned in the following week, starting with Kyoko's elder brother trying to recruit Tsuna into the boxing club, which soon led to Tsuna contracting a disease. Natsume was worried, but Reborn had involved himself so she didn't really hurry home after her brother.

Instead the sandy haired girl was walking through the market district, eyeing the stands that were set up and walking into some shops to see what they had. Finding nothing that caught her eye she was about to leave when an older looking store got her attention.

She couldn't see much through the window so deciding to take a chance, Natsume made her way in. Upon entering the sandy haired girl was taken back by the inside. There were numerous tables set up around the shop, each table having a certain amount of knick knacks, ranging from necklaces to rings to herbs of all kind.

Passing by a rather large carriage set up with various porcelain dolls (which she quickly avoided), Natsume's interest was got by the glass case that was up against the far wall, next to the register. The various amount of crystals and precious stones definitely caught her interest and as she looked over all the rows, her eyes landed on a few that seemed to just call to her.

One was a triangular crystal, that was a light white color at the tips, but in the middle was of various blues and purples, all meshing into one, making it look like the night sky. Another was a dark blue stone that looked rough and clumped together, compared to the smooth ones surrounding it.

"Interested in those are you?"

A noise of surprise escaped her as she quickly straightened up, leading to her dropping her school bag. She turned slightly as she bent down to pick her bag, eyes coming up to meet those of the white haired man before her.

"Hello," she greeted as she stood up, slinging her bag over her head so it wouldn't fall off again. She bowed slightly, before she realized he was waiting for her answer. She looked away from his inquiring gaze and looked back over the stones she had been looking, "Just slightly curious."

"Would you like to see them?"

The question through her off, but knowing she wouldn't find another chance like this she quickly took it. "If it's no bother."

He gave her a knowing smile, moving past her to open the case and stepping back so she could reach in and grab the ones she had been looking at. Her hand paused over one that was red at the tip and as it reached the other was more of a smoky black. Shrugging she grabbed it, her thumb lightly rubbing at the slight edges it had.

"How much would this all be?" she asked as she held out the three that she had picked out. The older man's head tilted to the side in thought.

"A little less than 4600 yen," he finally said and watched as the girl's shoulders slumped over at the total.

"I don't even have half of that on me," she murmured looking down at the crystals she had picked out. "I think I'll be coming back another time then."

"If I may ask, do you have an idea of what those stones could do for you?"

"I have a feeling," she muttered, her gaze dropping from his again before she looked up, "I'm just curious really, I've been reading a book about how the writer used certain types of crystals to empower themselves and keep in touch with their spiritual side."

"But you're so young," started the man as he picked one of the crystals out of her hands and turned it over in his fingers, "To be caught up on such heavy things, girls like you should be looking at boys and frilly cakes no?"

Natsume frowned at that and was about to respond rather rudely, when he waved her off, putting the stone he picked up back onto her hand.

"Curious one you are," he said, a sly look crossing his features, his plum eyes obscured by his glasses as the light reflected off of them. "If you'll indulge an old man, I may be of more help down the road."

He turned around, beckoning the young teen to follow him. He led her through the rest of the shop and towards the back through a thick curtain which served as a barrier between the shop and his home.

"I am Kawahira," he began as he gestured for her to sit on one of the couches, while he sat across from her on a recliner. Bowing her head, Natsume introduced herself; feeling as if doing so was wasted as the whiter haired man gave her a another look.

"Hm, yes, pleased to meet you Natsume-chan," he gave her a knowing smile as he sat up a little straighter, "You know I usually don't do this, but you've caught my interest."

Feeling slightly weirded out, Natsume all but nodded. Kawahira held up his hands, "I am merely curious; it is not often that I run into someone who has an aura like yours."

"What?"

"I am willing to offer you lessons," he went on as if she hadn't spoken, "I have felt a commotion starting and it feels so close, even though it's so far from coming. I will be willing to offer up whatever you need at a discount and all you need to do is listen to me and do as I do."

He stared her down, an odd smile on his face as he let her think on what he had just said. It was rare the times that a person such as the one before him came about, it spoke of how strongly and very much wronged she had felt by death.

"If you wish, you could take a couple days to think about it."

He would have chuckled if he knew it wouldn't have put her off from him. She was curious, this girl was and as all things that peaked his curiosity, Kawahira liked to keep them close. Why else would he have opened up a shop such as his - if not to collect the odd little trinkets that graced the mortal world?

* * *

Natsume ended up leaving Kawahira's shop with a completely different stone. Kawahira had assured it was a gift for her and would help her in many ways once she managed to tune it to her energy. The grayish-lilac stone had been wrapped up into a small draw string purse and was put away into her bag before she could lose it.

She didn't know what kind of vibe she got from the white haired man, but she felt like she could trust him. From her perspective at least, from a different one there was something just slightly off about the man.

It was a thought for another day and she would really think about his offer.

While Reborn hadn't really been training the two (at least in what she thought he would be), she knew most of his focus would definitely be on Tsuna, leaving her with little to no guidance in a world that would easily eat her up. Not that he would probably let that happen. She knew Reborn would give them lessons, but when it came to helping either twin he was more hands on with Tsuna than he was with her.

Perhaps she would give Kawahira a chance to see exactly what he had to offer, if not she would go about doing as she did now.

With a big sigh, Natsume entered her home, letting a hyperactive Lambo cling to her leg; the young boy began to speak a mile a minute about his day. Putting her bag down and kneeling just a bit to pick up the five year old who immediately wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Taidama!"

"Oh Tsu-chan you just missed your friend!"

"What friend?"

Her mother gave an exasperated sigh, sharing a look with the magenta haired woman who sat at the table with her. "Kyoko-chan was here a little earlier."

"Oh, did she need anything?"

"She stopped by to give your brother some books," Nana began to gush on how cute the other girl was and how Tsuna reacted to her, "Oh if he's anything like your father, I'm sure any girl would be lucky to have him."

Natsume shared a look with the other woman, who gave her a soft smile, before she agreed with her mother. The two began to babble about 'love' and how wonderful it was for a man to know how to properly woe a girl. The teen slowly began to ease her way out of the room and made her way upstairs as quickly as she could with a rambunctious child attached to her hip.

"I missed _ane_ so much today!" Lambo started speaking up again as she sat him down on her bed, where his attention was got by Emi. "Emi-chan and I did so much sneaking!" here the five year old giggled, "We found a way to get Reborn, _ane!_ "

"Oh really? How?"

She began to unbutton her shirt, making sure to keep her back to the child, but listened carefully to what he said. Sniffing her shirt, she put it aside to hang it up and picked out a cotton tee and slipped that on. Once that was on, she unzipped the side of her skirt, and left that on the floor as she picked up a gray pair of sweats. Her socks came off, and as soon as she unclasped her bra, the teen felt free.

"Mm," Natsume hummed as he asked her what she thought of his great plan to finally end Reborn. "I think," she drew out, sitting beside him and pulling him up against her, "You should wait a little bit longer before you spring this on him."

"Ehh?! But it's so great! I have to do it now!"

She poked his nose, causing him to go cross eyed as he followed her finger. "Patience, Lambo, what happened last time?"

The child grew quiet, hands slowly reaching out to wrap around his big sister's hand.

"Ahh, I think _ane_ has a point!"

"Good, now let's go back downstairs and see what we can snack on hm?"

With a squeal of excitement, Lambo took off, slightly sliding across the wooden floors, but determined to beat his big sister downstairs. Leaving her door slightly open, Natsume trailed behind Lambo, though she took her time going down the stairs.

"So he's going to take me down."

The sudden voice and weight on her shoulder threw her off and made her trip over the last two steps. Groaning as she hit the floor, Natsume gave the tiny person who stood beside her a glare.

"Why do you feel the need to do that?"

The baby tipped his fedora at her, that same cherub-like smile on his face as he looked down at her.

"I have to keep you on your toes don't I?"

With a huff, Natsume pushed herself up off the floor and gave the baby hitman a half-hearted glare.

"Right, more like you want to see me fall on my ass," she grumbled, as she motioned for him to walk in front of her, but all he did was jump up to her shoulder once more.

The stone was promptly forgotten for the rest of the night.

* * *

"So you're telling me this because?"

Reborn had promptly ditched Tsuna as soon as the boy made it to his homeroom and had snuck his way into hers.

"Sawada stop whispering back there."

Aoba-sensei out of all her sensei's had the best instinct for a teacher. He could tell when his students were doing something they weren't supposed too and she wanted to know if the rumor that said he had eyes in the back of his head was true.

"He doesn't," piped up Reborn as he rested against her legs, his fedora tipped forward to cover his face.

"What are you talking about," she murmured, arms resting against her desk with her head laying on the back of her palm as she wrote down the math equation.

"Nothing."

The girl kept her tongue, opting to instead figure out the problem presented to them, lest she be called out and made to look like an idiot.

"You will be there, understood."

She reached down and flicked the baby's shoulder, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to get her annoyance across. The pinch she received to the back of her calf was uncalled for and would probably bruise, but was a typical response of Reborn's when she did anything against his person.

' _Demon child.'_

And she definitely didn't want to know _why_ said hitman was chuckling as he made his way out, none of the students in her row noticing the fedora wearing babe strut to the hidden passageway he had made connecting her class with Tsuna's.

Math seemed to drag on after that and so did the rest of the subjects – except for English, that one went by too fast and she was sure she had an _extra_ understanding of the language and she _still_ didn't get it. Once the last bell of the day rung she was out of the class and making her way to the reception room.

A couple minutes later, three boys trailed slightly by Reborn appeared and all seemed to question her being there. She shrugged and instead pointed at the hitman, who all but smiled like the angel he wasn't at all of them.

"Well, go on check the room and see if it's to your liking."

Yamamoto was the one to open the door and Gokudera was the first to step in, only for him to stumble back as whoever was in the room attacked. Before she could stop Tsuna from going in, he, followed by Yamamoto and Gokudera were down.

She pulled her hair tie off her wrist and put her hair up into a high pony tail before she walked in, the sounds of fighting continuing before all that was heard was Tsuna freaking out. Stepping in herself, she leaned to the side as Hibari swiped at her.

"Hibari-san, it's odd coming to you instead of the other way around," she began, ducking down as he attacked again, this time aiming for her head. "And rude too, I don't attack you when you search for me."

Hibari ceased his attack, lowering his arm slightly as he glared at her.

"Why are you here, herbivore?"

"Just looking around," responded Natsume, her eyes leaving Hibari for a second to look for Reborn, who had already made himself comfortable in the far corner of the room.

The prefect sniffed, shifting to attack her again only for a gunshot to go off and a blur to step in between the two.

"I will protect my sister with my dying will!" screamed Tsuna as he punched Hibari back who all but smirked at the hit and threw himself at the brown haired boy. The scuffle went on for a while longer and Natsume didn't know whether to laugh or cry – did Tsuna seriously just hit Hibari with a slipper?

"That's enough," came Reborn's voice, knowing and full of authority, causing the prefect to turn around and stare at the babe.

"Oho?" the prefect attacked the hitman, only for his attack to fall short. "Wao, you're amazing."

Then a bomb went off.

Grabbing the other two by the back of their shirts, Natsume dragged the boys out, followed by a coughing Tsuna and an overly giddy Reborn who helped kick the other two awake. The two sputtered awake and with a bit of help from the siblings got up and made their way to exit the school.

"Well that was good battle training, wasn't it?"

"But we lost!" grumbled Gokudera, leaning a little on Tsuna who had quickly gotten dressed and helped his friend.

"The point wasn't to win," brought up Natsume, as she walked beside Yamamoto, who flinched when she reached out to steady him. "It was to show you what it's like to go up against someone who easily outclasses you."

Silence met her answer and Natsume blinked,

"What?"

"You think Hibari out classes us?" asked Gokudera, suddenly serious instead of his usual grouchy self.

"Well yeah," she responded, only to frown at them as the attention didn't let up. "Look he leads the Disciplinary Committee for a reason, I mean he's not the nicest person, but he does have power to deal with anyone however he wants."

A hand settled itself atop her head, ruffling her hair, causing Natsume to mildly glare up at the baseball player.

"She has a point!"

Gokudera stopped, crossing his arms against his chest and glowering.

"Then why aren't you beat up like us?"

Natsume snorted, "Tsuna butted in at the last second." She wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulder and pulled him to her, resting her cheek against the side of his head. "So brave of my little brother to throw himself in front of a lion like that."

Tsuna blushed, not that Natsume noticed. Yamamoto caught the look in girl's eye and shared a look with Gokudera as the girl began to poke fun at Tsuna about fighting with a slipper.

The two had noticed how the siblings had been acting around one another and both were glad in their own way to see the two getting along again.

 _xv_

 _It took me two days to accept Kawahira's offer._

 _And it would be a while before he would call on me, but he said I was welcome to his shop as long as I had enough to cover the costs – even with his discount._

 _As nice as he looked, the man was stingy._

 _But since I've met him, I've felt calmer. I didn't wake up feeling tired and I actually dreamt less of what used to be or what_ could _be._

 _It'd been weeks since I've felt at ease with myself and I've missed this me so much._

* * *

Natsume sat with Lambo, making sure the boy was focusing on what she had drawn up for him and not roaming around the area.

"You know I think this is the stupidest thing ever," grunted Natsume as she held out some crayons for the boy, who grabbed them and began to color with them all at once. Shaking her head, the sandy haired girl let him do as he pleased, looking out to the field where all the boys were being ridiculous. "Seriously they just get hurt and then they complain."

"Let boys be boys, Tsu-chan!"

Natsume tsk'ed at that, pushing herself up and going to stand beside her mother. They had announced the pole knocking was about to begin, but they hadn't decided on who would be the leader for groups B and C.

A figure split the crowd of boys, letting the person through easily.

"Hibari Kyoya, leader of team B and C vs Sawada Tsunayoshi! Match Begin!"

"Oh, poor Tuna-fish," was all Natsume could say as she watched the match begin. It had started off not so good, slowly getting better, only for it to fall apart as two of the people caring Tsuna began to fight with one another. "Ah ya, mam have the band aids ready."

' _Boys are so dumb, I swear.'_

* * *

"Lambo?"

The small boy wearing the cow print clothes turned around and gave Natsume a big smile. He raised his arms, a pout on his face as he quietly asked her to pick him up. The teen couldn't refuse the boy, so she picked him up, while also pulling a napkin out of her bag to wipe his snotty nose.

"I've told you to stay home with mam, Lambo."

The boy sniffed, burying his face against her neck as quiet tears began to escape him. She sighed, using the same hand she used to clean his face to rub at his back.

"It's okay Lambo, but you promised me remember?"

The boy made a quiet sound as his arms came around to wrap around her neck.

"Well lets go home, school is over now and tomorrow we can do whatever you want, okay?"

"Oi! Stupid co- I mean Lambo!"

Looking ahead, Natsume saw the three coming up to her. She shared a look with Tsuna who looked a little frazzled, so instead of commenting on it, she instead gave the other two boys her attention.

"Did they do something to you Lambo?" asked Natsume, shifting the young boy in her arms so that he could see the others. The boy sniffed again and pointed at both Yamamoto and Gokudera.

"Stupidera is mean," he hiccupped, leaning his head against his shoulder, "And Llamamoto throws to hard."

"It's _Ya_ mamoto," she corrected, "And Gokudera, don't be calling names to others."

"But _ane,_ he's mean!"

"That's because you do things that make him mad," she sighed, running her fingers through his hair, "I've told you to be patient."

The younger boy whined, but she easily tuned it out and returned her attention to the three, "I don't want to know," a louder whine from Lambo cut her off, but she shushed him down, "If this happens again I'm going to be really mean about it."

That was directed at all of them. With that said Natsume turned around and led the way home. Lambo wanting to get one more in before he got his big sister really mad, stuck his tongue out while pulling his eye at the trio.

' _Nyah –ha! Take that Stupidera!'_

* * *

October eighth was another Sunday.

Natsume was up unusually early, laying about her bed as she looked at the stone she had taken out of her bag the other night. She had followed through with cleansing the stone, had soaked it in salt water for a couple hours and then before the sun set had left it out to soak up the rays of both the sun and the light of the moon

At least that's what the website she found said to do.

She had already focused herself into the crystal, it was harder to do so than the quartz, but there was a calming effect of using the lepidolite stone that left her feeling more grounded and at ease. The quartz had helped her in finding and balancing her energy, but its downside was that it made her over focus on certain things.

Reborn had to shake her out of her moment last week, which resulted in her both seeing and experiencing a different side of the hitman. She shivered at the memory, the way the baby's shadow had extended to a tall figure, how he oozed danger and how easily it would have been for him to just end her.

A crash followed by a squeal brought Natsume out of her thoughts. She put the stone down and made a face, wondering if it would be worth it to go check out the noise or stay holed up in her room. She choose the latter seeing as Reborn was probably involved in some way.

It was a knock on her door that broke her out of her thoughts, when she unlocked the door she wasn't expecting Yamamoto to be there.

"Hi," was all he said, looking rather awkward as he didn't meet her eye, which was usual for the usually confident baseball player. "I don't mean to bother you, but I want to talk."

What surprised her was the serious look on his face as he finally looked up and met her gaze head on. Taken back she gestured for him to enter her room, causing him to blush and shake his head.

"You want to talk, so we'll do it in my room, if not we won't talk," she said casually, about to close the door in his face.

"Okay! Okay!" the baseball player went in as she left the door slightly open, just in case Nana decided to come up and check on them. She turned back to the door and was taken back at how Yamamoto had prostrated himself before her. He was bowing low, hands balled into fists at his sides. "I want to apologize for dragging Tsuna down with me on….on _that_ day."

"I know it's why you probably don't like me much and I can understand, I put Tsuna in danger," he continued on as he straightened up, his gaze intense as he caught her eye. Yamamoto waited for a response, when he got nothing he gave a breathy laugh and excused himself out.

She caught his arm and the strength with which she pulled him back in front of her surprised Yamamoto. Her brow was furrowed, eyes searching his; the way her jaw clenched as she ground her teeth, thinking of a way to say what she wanted. Natsume straightened up; her hand went down to grab his making the boy's face turn pink.

"I'm sorry too," her voice was soft, yet thick with emotion. The straight line her mouth had been set in curved up a little, "I forgive you Yamamoto."

He released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Of course what he did next was unexpected to her, though to anyone who knew the tall boy knew to just wait for it. He drew her up in his arms, easily picking her up and spun her around, quickly setting her down as she pinched his side.

The sandy haired girl looked mildly peeved, but she didn't do anything against him. She just sniffed at him and crossed her arms beneath her chest and gave him an unamused look.

"For some odd reason Tsuna likes you," she spoke up as he reached for the door, "I'm sure you know I'm not as nice as him."

The dark haired boy chuckled, gave the girl a wry smirk.

"I don't think you understand what Tsuna has done for me."

The way her lips pursed, yet her eyes brightened made Yamamoto's ever present smile break through. She waved at him as he finally left, making sure to close the door behind him. Natsume took in a deep breath and blew it out quickly, shaking her head, the girl looked over at her remaining companion and asked,

"What just happened?"

Feeling lighter than she has been in days, Natsume changed out of her pajamas and into something more appropriate when there was people around.

"Time to greet the world for another day."

* * *

Sunday had been spent playing games with Lambo. Both mother and daughter had turned the numerous games they enticed the young Italian child with to help him write and speak better in Japanese.

Monday was an average day. School had let out with no odd things happening during the school hours, Gokudera and Tsuna walked home together as Yamamoto had practice and she claimed that she needed to look for something at the plaza.

With a quick, _'I'll see you later_ ,' Natsume made her way to Kawahira's shop. The older man was weird, but from what he had told her the second time she had come around, he seemed to know and understand _her_.

A bell chimed above her, one that hadn't been there last time and a mannerly voice greeted her. At the back of the store stood Kawahira, holding apart the cloth curtains that served as a divider between his shop and home.

"Come on through, I'm just getting somethings sorted."

She made her way through what was going to be a very familiar area, setting her things beside her as she sat down. She could hear murmuring coming from the other side of the curtain, a quiet hum quickly following it before it grew quiet.

"Here we are!"

He set a tray before them, a small pot of steaming tea and two cups beside it. The white haired man served the two, pushing a cup towards the sandy haired girl who accepted it.

"Tell me of what you know about yourself, little mist and from there we will progress further."

 _xvi_

 _Kawahira was a sly as a fox._

 _I had a feeling he was hiding something, but I knew help like his wouldn't come around again, if at all ever. So I took it. The first week we met three times for two hours, the first hour was mostly him instructing me on using the mist flame with and without a conduit._

 _The second hour was spent doing physical training._

 _For a man that looked like he could barely lift hurt a fly, the man sure knew how to throw a punch and knew exactly where to hit to make me learn not to leave myself unprotected._

 _It was odd though how he just seemed to know and understand, how to push me and get my attention. I think he did something to me that first time I met him, but I don't know if I should be mad or grateful if he actually_ did _do something._

 _After what I would lovingly call 'hell week' was over, he had decided to only see me once a week. I honestly didn't know what to make of his comment, but I feel like it was probably directed at someone I knew._

'We wouldn't want the Sun to become curious now would we?"

* * *

It was after all the fuss for Reborn's birthday had died down that Natsume had snuck herself into Tsuna's room and roused her brother who blinked blearily up at her before looking at the clock.

He yawned quietly and followed her out back to her room, sitting down on her bed as she went through her nightstand and pulled out a small package which she handed to her half asleep twin.

"Tsume, you shouldn't have," he began only to be shushed by her as she sat beside him, throwing her arms around his shoulder.

"I wanted too," she rested her chin against his shoulder, watching as he unwrapped the package to pull out a smoky looking crystal linked to a white chain.

"Natsume are you becoming a witch?"

"No, but if I did I'd cast protective and good luck spells for you every day."

That comment made her laugh because _of course_ her brother would ask her that. Especially after all the books she'd been bringing in from Kawahira's shop and okay maybe she _was_ a little drawn in by all the lore and possibilities that the self-proclaimed's witches believed in.

Elena had similar thoughts and the way the old man was guiding her, it felt almost _magical._ There was also a certain, yet very dead girl, who expressed much the same interest and curiosity, only for it to never be sated due to an untimely death.

Now that she thought about it, maybe it was her way to come to terms with the memories that had now stopped assaulting her with the very ungratifying death of Jasmine.

"Funny," chortled Tsuna as he slipped the necklace on, "But I'll hold you to that if you do."

Natsume smiled, leaning up to place a kiss against her brother's temple.

"Of course," she laughed, happy when he returned the gesture. "Happy Birthday Tsunayoshi."

' _Anything for the boy who could change everything.'_

* * *

 **AN:** Honestly half of the stuff that ended up happening wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. Natsume is a very emotional girl and yes, she was sealed by Nono along with Tsuna. Tsuna's seal breaking was brought forth by Reborn constantly shooting at him, hers was broken by constantly watching her brother die and in turn reliving a death no one should remember. I'm taking that as the reason and am sticking to it.

We already see she's not the nicest of people, but she can be decent once she warms up to you (its why she forgave Yamamoto instead of continuing to quietly bitch at him). Plus what makes her brother happy, keeps her happy. She's very overprotective of her family as we can see, which isn't always a great thing.

Kawahira through me for a loop, but he found his way in pretty early, let's see how that goes right?

The path I'm taking for the flame is not completely different, it's just how the oc is finding it easier to understand. Though she doesn't like to think about or dwell on her past life, she does have somethings from her previous self slipped in. The stones/crystals/minerals come into play mostly to help Natsume focus and make her _feel_ as if its helping her (which it is). I've also realized I have a habit of slipping my OCs into witch-like lives (because _hullo, its kind of legit as hell in KHR!_ )

I'll be looking over this again later to make sure I caught all the odd little things, but let me know what I didn't catch! Also hurray for me breaking my previous records of writing! I'll try to keep it this long just because I can fit more in, if not 4000-8000 is what I'm willing to do.

I have a tumblr that I'll try to update things about this story (mostly more back story and snippets that don't make it into the actual piece) its sorugao - bandgeek . tumblr . com without all the spaces.

Until next time!

 _Sorugao_


	6. IV

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

* * *

 _xvii_

 _I woke up before Tsuna later on that day and even though my arm was trapped beneath him and was starting to tingle in an uncomfortable way, I let him stay there._

 _I looked over his features, lightly tracing over his nose which was a little more rounder than mine, but smaller, traced up the bridge of his nose and smoothed my fingers over his brow, before they buried themselves in his hair._

 _His nose wrinkled, he murmured something under his breath, but he didn't wake._

 _Pulling my hand away from his hair, I reached for the pendant I had given him last night, the smoky crystal gleaming in the few rays of light that made it in. I tapped it slightly, I could feel a weight settle on me and I breathed in deeply, hoping to just ease it away._

 _It didn't._

"Even if I'm not there, even when I won't be able too, I'll always protect you Tsunayoshi."

 _And that was a promise I would never go back on._

* * *

Natsume had been the first to get up though she struggled to move her arm out from underneath her brother; she finally managed and was glad when it barely even roused him. Slightly amused she made her way out of her room and towards the bathroom just a bit ways down the hall, only to be assaulted by a flying child that tackled her legs.

" _Buon Compleanno sorella!_ "

That was the first time she heard the younger boy slip into his native tongue, with a cheesy smile she picked up him up, letting him wrap his arms around her neck tightly as he placed a big wet kiss on her cheek.

"Aw, _grazi?_ " she responded, hugging him to her and taking him with her into to the bathroom, "That was correct right?" she asked as she sat him down on the counter, making sure he wouldn't fall as she began to pull out her toothbrush and toothpaste. Natsume placed one arm around on the other side of Lambo and began to brush her teeth, making sure that the small boy wouldn't topple over with his frequent movements.

"Lambo made something for you, but mama wants you and Tsuna-nii downstairs first," his speech was becoming better, his tongue not having as hard of a time twisting around the syllables than when he had first showed up a month ago. Whoever had taught him back in Italy had done a good job.

She nodded in understanding and finished up brushing her teeth, putting Lambo down, she asked him to go wake up Tsuna for her which he nodded seriously, though the glint in his eye told her he would be anything but nice about it.

As she went about using the toilet, she heard a mild explosion, followed by a shriek. With a groan, Natsume hurried up and washed her hands before going to check her room.

There were no scorch marks on the floor, though Tsuna was on the floor pointing at an older boy who looked at him lazily. The attention turned to her as her door creaked and the way the green eyes of the boy lit up made her pause.

" _Big Sis!_ " he greeted, a wide smile on his face as he strode towards her and wrapped her in his arms, not realizing he had picked her up in his bear hug. "Happy Birthday!"

"Lambo?" she questioned never having met the fifteen year old Lambo, returned his hug, though not as tightly. "My, my look at how you've grown."

If anything Adult Lambo's smile widened even more, his eyes crinkling causing the markings at the corners to scrunch up. He kept his arms around her shoulders, standing up a little straighter as he was definitely taller than her and judging by the smug look on his face he was enjoying the height difference.

She elbowed his side causing him to smother his look (seriously the boy was as tall as Yamamoto), she had to look up to smirk at him, "You know, taller you may be, but I'm pretty sure I'm still in charge."

That caused Lambo to laugh a hand coming up to cover the sound.

"Oh man, oh man," he chuckled once he calmed down, giving Natsume another grin before turning his attention to Tsuna who had picked himself up and just stared between the two. "And a Happy Birthday to you too, Tsuna-nii," winked the young man, making Tsuna's mouth quirk up as he thanked Lambo.

The three stood in a comfortable silence after that, the only sound breaking it was the light tinkling of Emi's bell as she prowled out of the closet and sniffed curiously in the air. Amber eyes caught Lambo's figure and the small cat jingled over, twining herself between the older boy's legs.

"You know I think it's because of you she's so social," Natsume idly commented, watching as the small pint sized cat pull away from Lambo's legs and make herself comfortable on the empty bed.

Ruffling her hair, Lambo winked at the girl he saw as his big sister, "Any time, big sis!" With that a plume of smoke enveloped him, replacing him with a cackling child, who quickly realized where he was and hid the grenades in his hands terribly behind his back. "E-eh? L-lambo was just trying to-"

The twins rolled their eyes at the lame excuse that Lambo tried to make; Natsume's hands reached down behind the small boys back and plucked the weapons out of his hands and set them on her nightstand. The pout on his face and the way his eyes widened in protest was quickly cut off as she wagged her finger at him, "Didn't you have a mission from mama?"

"Yeah, yeah!" he reached for her hand and held out his other for Tsuna who grasped it and let the small child lead them out of the room, only for Lambo to point in the direction of the restroom, "Tsuna has to wash his stinky breath first!"

Natsume made a choking sound, which she smothered poorly as her brother caught the amused glint in her hazel eyes. She made a shooing motion for him to hurry along and the younger twin rolled his eyes; not even two minutes later the brunette had come out, wiping his hands on his pajama pants and taking Lambo's hand again.

As they came to the end of staircase, Lambo pulled away from them, grabbing a small little party favor from the night before and pulled it.

"Surprise!~"

The twins stared, both wide eyed at the small group that was in the living room. At the front of the group stood their mother, who could have literally replaced the sun with her smile. Beside her stood Bianchi with Kyoko by her side and on the opposite side of Nana was Yamamoto who had his hand on Gokudera's shoulder.

"My babies are growing up," cooed Nana, clapping her hands up to her chest as she strode towards the twins, wrapping them up in her arms. "But you two will always be my little ones."

" _Mam_ ," they said in unison, their voices slightly abashed as Nana tightened her hold, giggling as she placed kisses on their cheeks. Tsuna quickly returned it as he pulled out of her grasp, slightly embarrassed that his mother had done that in front of his friends. Natsume on the other hand was enjoying both Tsuna's embarrassment and her mother's way of coddling the two.

The two were now taller than the woman, Natsume having grown a couple centimeters since the start of second term and Tsuna only seeming taller because of his hair, which was starting to grow a little wild.

"Thank you, mam," murmured Natsume as she wrapped the woman in a hug. The sandy haired girl pulled away, her mother shooing her along towards Kyoko. The auburn haired girl was filled with energy as she almost literally pounced on Natsume.

"You should have told me your birthday was coming up!" chastised Kyoko as she pulled away from the slightly taller girl, trying to seem as if she was unimpressed with the younger girls' forgetfulness, but a smile broke through either way. "Hana couldn't make it, but she says happy birthday."

"Awe," Natsume placed a hand over her heart, knowing the Kurokawa girl was only standoffish so people would leave her alone, but in the end did care for her in her own way. "That's so sweet of Hana, is she going to tell me off tomorrow?"

Kyoko's smile was slightly devious, though she shrugged. She held up a hand before Natsume could speak again and pulled a small wrapped box out of her bag, "For you."

"Kyoko, _no_ , you shouldn't have," the box was in her hands before she could say anything else and the doe eyed girl looked at her expectantly. Natsume made a noise in the back of her throat, Bianchi took that moment to part away from Tsuna (who was blushing furiously along with Yamamoto, while Gokudera all but gagged) and headed towrds the two girls, throwing an arm around Natsume's shoulders when she got there.

For once Natsume was happy that Bianchi wasn't that tall as her face ended up against the woman's shoulder and not her bosom. She gave Kyoko a look that screamed help, though the other girl listened intently at whatever the magenta haired woman was saying.

"You are blossoming into a beautiful young lady, Natsume," Bianchi had loosened her grip slightly, though still kept the girl against her, "I think it's time I gave you some tips on how to deal with the other sex."

"Oh no, no, that's fine," but her sputtered words were ignored and Bianchi continued on. The whole time she could hear Tsuna snickering in the background as he led the two boys into the kitchen to get to the food Nana had made.

"I must! From one woman to another, it would be poor of me to not pass on my knowledge and help you in finding love," Kyoko's attention was raptly caught by the very emotional woman, who had tears in her eyes as she gave up what she knew and had learned on her own.

"I have found that the best way to a man's heart is his stomach and if you two ever need help, I will be all but willing to give it to you," finished the Italian woman letting go of Natsume as she ruffled Kyoko's hair, "Love never waits, always remember to strive for what you want."

The sandy haired girl was nonplussed, while the other girl looked as if she was just divulged life's greatest secrets. Shaking her head, Natsume grabbed the other girl and went into the kitchen, hoping that the others hadn't left them with just small nibbles of food.

* * *

Everyone had left shortly before dinner and while Natsume fiddled with her new charm bracelet, Tsuna helped Nana wash up the dishes that had been used during the day.

"Tsu-chan, come help dry the dishes."

With a hum, the girl slid off the stool she had set beside the counter. Opening one of the cupboards beside the sink, she pulled out a clean wash rag and began to dry off the plates her mother had just rinsed off.

"Mam did we miss papa's phone call today?" asked Natsume as she set dried off a plate and set it on the drying rack. Nana's pause was slight, but Natsume had caught it; her mother's shoulders had tensed before an airy laugh left her.

"No sweetheart," responded the brunette woman, her shoulders almost sagging in her weariness. "I'm afraid not."

"Maybe he got caught up in his work?" supplied the girl setting another plate atop the other, the clacking of ceramic seeming to echo in the kitchen. Her mother hummed, shrugging slightly as she was washing off the spoons and forks.

"Is that always going to be his excuse?" grumbled Tsuna as he cleaned up one of the last of the dirty dishes, his mood souring as he noticed his mother's slight shift in mood.

"He is a busy man," Nana's voice was extremely soft as she set down her what was in her hands, slightly toweling them off against her apron to come up and place them on Tsuna's shoulders, turning him so that he could face her. "Your father works hard for us, Tsunayoshi look at me," the boys gaze had begun to drift from hers, his brow furrowing and his mouth pulling into a frown.

Nana grasped his chin making sure that he _looked_ at her, "I don't excuse him Tsu-kun, but he gives us a comfortable life by sacrificing being here with us. Your father works hard to support us so that we don't have to struggle," his mother's voice sounded a little watery at the beginning, but had smoothed out towards the end. "I want you to understand that, Tsu-kun and not hold it against him."

Silence ensued after that, Tsuna quickly finishing whatever he had left and leaving the kitchen. His footsteps were loud as he went upstairs, leaving the two to bask in the upset that was left behind. The two finished up the task at hand, putting everything back where it was supposed to be.

"How about some hot chocolate?" asked Natsume as she pushed away from the sink and across towards the stove, "We can make some for Lambo and Reborn and you can tell us the night stories you made up for us-"

Her mother's hands had come to cup her cheeks as she turned around, about to fill the kettle with water. Natsume could feel her throat tighten at how tired Nana's eyes looked all of a sudden, the way she tried to give her a meaningful smile, but it just came out tired looking.

"Maybe some other night, Tsu-chan," Nana seemed to breathe out as she pulled away and exited the kitchen and headed towards her room, leaving Natsume to stand in the middle of the kitchen. The sandy haired girl blinked quickly, not wanting to cry and proceeded to busy herself by filling the kettle with water.

There was a bit of a scuffle at the kitchen entrance, one the girl didn't pay attention too, until someone had been knocked over. She had placed the kettle on the stove and was about to turn it on when she decided that hot chocolate didn't sound as good as it had.

"No!" Natsume turned her head towards the sound not at all shocked to see Lambo standing there, with Reborn standing a bit further away. " _Ane_ I want some hot chocolate and stories." The girl raised an eyebrow at the small boy, his innocent act not going over well as he became fidgety.

She gave the hitman an unimpressed look and he all but shrugged as he walked in, pushing Lambo aside playfully – well as playful as Reborn could get. The afro haired child ended up tripping, making him flip out and begin to ruffle through his hair.

"Will you talk to Tsuna?" she asked, not really bothering to try and stop Lambo who paused as he saw the girl flick on the stove and begin to rummage through the cupboards.

"This is something he has to come to on his own," was all Reborn said as he slipped further into the kitchen and took a seat on the stool she had been on earlier. "I want espresso, not chocolate."

Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she pulled out the box that contained the packets for hot chocolate, she eyed the hitman, "It's too late for caffeine, though, hot chocolate with some cookies should be enough."

There was a quiet cheer from Lambo as she said that, though the amused scoff she got from Reborn made her give him a questioning look. The fedora wearing baby shrugged, his smile being less mocking and a little more sincere, "I never took you for the mothering sort."

"I am _not_ mothering in any way."

The hitman hummed, keeping quiet until the water came to a boil and she prepared him a drink along with hers. She set out a plate of shortbread cookies, handed them to Lambo and had him carry them out to the living room as she took out the drinks. Setting them down on the coffee table, the girl had Lambo quickly glue himself to her side and she felt Reborn's knowing look bore into her.

"Am _not_."

"Whatever you say Natsume."

* * *

The twin's birthday had come and gone and by the time Natsume realized it, it was more than halfway through November almost December and the only thing that had happened that was even remotely exciting was meeting I-pin. The five year old girl was as adorable as Lambo, though not as tiring as the young boy could be, which she was thankful for.

It had also been a little over a month since she began her lessons with Kawahira and though her form could do with a little more practice, she was pleased to know that her ability to use her so-called mist flames was coming along nicely.

"Again," came Kawahira's voice as he knocked her back, letting her gather her bearings before giving her a rather disarming smile, "And this time don't let your thoughts stray, Natsume-chan."

He struck out toward her chest; she brought her right arm up to block it, letting the blow slide across the back of her wrist as she deflected it to the side. She moved away from him, only to duck down and move behind him as he tried a grappling move; her elbow came out only to jab at his side, but his hand quickly swatted it away.

"Getting behind an opponent is all good," commented the man as he lowered his stance, bring his right foot to sweep her off of her feet, "But you don't have the height nor power to try to take me down like that."

His plum eyes widened when Natsume hit the floor, watching how her image wavered as she brought herself back up a smirk curling at the corners of her mouth. The image of the sandy haired girl tilted her head to the side, her hazel eyes locking onto his as she brought her arms up.

"Two against one is fair then," a voice spoke up from behind. Kawahira chanced a glance over his shoulder to see the real Natsume settling into a similar stance as her counterpart.

"Mirror tricks, Natsume-chan?" questioned Kawahira as he deflected both of the blows that came at him, grasping on their wrists and throwing the two girls in opposite directions. The image of the other Natsume dissipated as she impacted hard against the floor, the real one merely rolled and gracelessly got to her feet. "I don't know if I should be proud that you managed to get that off of me last week or annoyed."

The girl didn't respond, instead she let herself settle into a low horse stance, her weight more focused on the back of her foot to easily push herself forward. Her hands came up, palms up ready to continue the fight only for Kawahira to call it.

"That's enough for today, go get cleaned up."

The girl kept her stance for a couple extra seconds, seeing no under handed tactic from her sensei she straightened up and bowed. She got her bag that had been put near the entrance of the living room and headed towards the bathroom to clean herself up.

Kawahira got to putting everything back in with a wave of his hand, dark tendrils of indigo flame wrapping around the couches and the small coffee table and pulling them back into place. With another wave all the extra things that he had hanging about appeared in shrouds of a similar colored flame. Hands on his hips, the older man glanced about the room to make sure nothing was out of place, satisfied, he made his way into his shop and behind the counter.

Natsume came through back in her school uniform; hair tucked behind her ears and looked as if she hadn't been sparring for the last hour and a half.

"Questions little mist?" he asked, not looking at her as he took out a box from a cupboard beneath the register. The girl stayed quiet, hazel eyes gazing over the box before coming back to him.

"Can I take the book this time?"

"Ah?"

There was a tiny noise she made and it made him almost smile.

" _May_ I use your book, Kawahira-sensei?"

This time he did smile and gave her a nod, hearing the curtains swishing as she headed back into his home to get what she had asked for.

"Bring it back in one piece and don't write in it, understand?" He turned to look at her as she came back through, his plum eyes unusually sharp causing a chill to go up her spine in warning. The feeling was brief and was quickly replaced by a warm smile, his eyes crinkling shut as he waved her away, "If that is all, I shall see you next week, I'll send for you."

"See you old man," called Natsume over her shoulder as she exited the shop, a mischievous glint in her eye as she noticed him pause. "Take care!"

Kawahira snorted, though he couldn't help the smile that quirked at the corners of his lips, "Brat," was all he uttered as the door chimed closed. Bringing his eyes back to the box in hand, he waved a hand over it causing the air around it to shimmer and revealing a colorful crystal ball.

He waved his hand over it, focusing on one of the specific colors and pulling at it until it showed an image of a small baby. Kawahira smirked, letting the image fall after a while and putting it away.

"The future is just going to be _full_ of surprises."

* * *

Natsume gave the man blocking the entrance to her home an unimpressed look, he would have had a similar expression if he cared only a little more of what a small girl thought of him.

"Sawada only," was all he said, his Japanese heavily accented.

"Wonderful," bit out the sandy haired girl, one of her hands coming up to gesture at herself, "I'm Sawada Natsume, let me into my god-"

"Eh really?" the man cut her off sounding surprised, his surprise was reflected on the others faces nearby and it ticked her off only a little bit more. " _This ones got more spine than the other one_!" commented the man in his native tongue to the other guard beside him, making Natsume blink up at him as he still hadn't moved aside.

"Go on in little lady," said the other guard, opening the small gate and holding it out for her, "Don't mind Gerardo."

"Thank you," she said, hearing the slightly exasperated tone of this man's voice, "And I won't mind him at all…?" she trailed off, tilting her head to the side as she left it up to the light haired man to give his name instead of her asking for it.

"Leonardo is my name little lady."

"Leo-nar-do," she sounded out slowly, careful with the way she pronounced the first part of his name. She turned to the other man, her eyes narrowing at the brunette, "And Gerardo?" With a slight nod from him, Natsume smiled and headed in through the gate and towards the front door, wondering who exactly was here to have a ridiculous amount of men just out both in the street and standing around her home.

Opening the front door she toed her shoes off, happy to finally be out of the tight fitting school shoes. She kept her bag slung over her shoulder as she walked towards the staircase and called out, " _Taidama!_ " hanging onto the railing and leaning back before pulling herself up once she heard her mother's response.

She took the stairs two at a time, her footsteps loud as she made her way up. Someone called her name from her brother's room, but she quickly ignored them in favor of reaching her room. Shutting and locking the door behind, Natsume quickly undressed and pulled on a pair of warm black sweats and a purple long sleeved thermal. Doing a quick check in the mirror she noticed a slight bruise starting to show on the right side of her temple were Kawahira had struck her when she failed to properly dodge earlier.

Bringing her right hand up and gently touching the bruised skin, she wondered if she should use her flames to cover it up or just come up with an excuse.

"Eh, I did fall down the stairs yesterday with Tsuna," she commented to herself, wondering if that was a good excuse. Having been with her brother for all her life, she was prone to random bruises and scrapes appearing, she nodded to herself. "Doable, I guess."

"Tsume!"

The sandy haired girl held her breath; really couldn't she just be left alone for a while? She cared and loved the people in her home, but really there was another reason she was starting to spend more time out than in.

"What, Tsuna?" she sighed to herself, rubbing at her eyes with the palms of her hands as she realized how grouchy she must have sounded. Opening the door blinking a little more than usual she made her way to Tsuna's room and knocked.

"Finally!" came Tsuna's gasp as he opened and pulled her in. "Geez what took you so long, you're not usually out this late."

Natsume yawned, reaching to pat her brother's head while using her other hand to cover her mouth. "Silly Tuna-fish, it's not that late."

"We ate dinner already Tsume."

She looked at her brother, squinting her eyes as she gave his hair a slight tug to see if he wasn't trying to trick her. "It's barely seven, no?"

"Its past eight," Tsuna sighed out, reaching for his sister's hand and pulling it away from his hair. While his sister didn't seem at all worried by her lateness tonight, Tsuna had been noticing Natsume staying out more. It didn't really worry him much that she stayed out late, what did worry him was that she was usually out on her own. "I told mom you might have been at Kyoko-chan's so she's not bothered by it."

The sheepish look Natsume gave him didn't soothe his worries.

"Just promise that whatever is keeping you out late isn't going to take you away."

There was something that went unsaid; Natsume couldn't really place her finger on it. She pulled her brother into a hug.

"Staying out late isn't going to keep me away, I'll always come back."

* * *

 _xviii_

 _I would have thought that everything would have come down on us soon. There was no hurry to grow, to fight, or anything, but I was preparing. I would be strong just as Tsuna would be stronger._

 _I met Dino, he was…good?_

 _For Tsuna at least, I could see bits of Tsuna in Dino and that was good right? He was a good boss, Tsuna would be a good boss too._

 _And I….I don't know exactly what I would be, but I'll hopefully be just as good._

* * *

Mondays, sometimes they aren't the boring day everyone makes them out to be.

"Tsuna, why are you tied up?"

"He's fine Natsume," Reborn spoke up as he walked up to Tsuna and lightly kicked him. "So what do you think about those two?"

Dino shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking in the direction that Yamamoto and Gokudera had taken off.

"They're trustworthy, a little too hot headed though," said the blond as he finally turned to Tsuna and began to loosen the rope. "You're a real lucky guy, Tsuna."

"Hey boss, we're going to leave!" called one of Dino's men, who looked oddly familiar to Natsume. "Have a good day little lady!"

Natsume smiled kindly, waving at the man as they left. She turned back to the situation, only to see Tsuna on the verge of having a panic attack. Already knowing something wasn't going to go well today, she went to stand beside him, putting an arm around him as his words began to mesh together in his panic.

"What happened Tsuna?" she asked, not looking at him but at Dino who looked more agitated than anything. Tsuna shakily explained what Reborn had suddenly revealed to them and the girl couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. "You don't half ass anything do you?"

"Language, Tsume."

She ignored that and instead reached out to Dino, looping her arm with his and walking in the same direction the two teenagers had gone down earlier.

"We just need to be calm, Tsuna," she began, moving her arm from his shoulder and looping it around his arm. "We have a boss, a boss candidate, and a –"she cast a look over her shoulder and realized Reborn had fallen asleep, her face quickly fell, but she quickly fixed it though the two could hear the exasperation in her voice, "And me I guess, I'm sure we'll be fine."

By the time they got to where the supposed hideout of the Momokyokai, Tsuna and Dino had slipped out of her hold and gone on ahead while she stayed back. Noting that one of the school bags that was on the floor belonged to Yamamoto the other two burst through the other door, leaving Natsume to pick up the bags.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder, Natsume made her way into the room, making sure to stay in Dino's shadow and noting the damage that had been done to both the room and the people in it. In the middle of it all stood Yamamoto and Gokudera, who both cheerfully waved at Tsuna once they realized he came in.

At the same moment the door in the back slammed open and more of the Yakuza slipped through. A deal was brought forth by Dino, only to be rejected by the leader. Dino stepped forward, his whip in hand and lashed out with it only for it to hit everyone on their side but Tsuna and her.

"We'll have fun with that one!" purred one of the guys farther back in the group, making Natsume sneer at him. There was a quiet yelp from Tsuna as bullets shot out and Natsume used that moment of distraction to wave at the yakuza members that had looked back at her.

A haughty smirk crossed the girl's features as she wiggled her fingers at them, the tips glowing a slight purple as her eyes flashed familiar amber. This made them focus solely on her and by the way their eyes seemed to grow wide she knew she had caught them in her illusion, making them completely unaware of Tsuna as he descended upon them and smacked them around with his oversized hands.

' _These people are so much easier to fool than the old man.'_

She stood back after that, the coloring in her eyes returning to normal and ducking down as one of the yakuza was punched her way. The sound the wall made as he slammed into it, the plaster cracking under his weight and then his body hitting the floor as he peeled away was one she hadn't heard before. The door slammed open soon after that, a shout of 'Boss!' followed by Dino's men swarming in and dealing with the few stragglers that had managed to withstand Tsuna's hits.

"Come on little lady, this is no place for you," came Leonardo's voice from behind her. Natsume looked over her shoulder to the light haired man, who gave her a half smile, his green eyes not exactly reflecting that as he looked over the damage.

"Lead the way out."

He kept her at his back, making sure he would be the one to take the first hit in case some last minute fighters came through, but that was unnecessary. He led her out of the small building and towards a rather SUV that was stationed right outside. The Italian Mafioso opened the door for her and tapped on the front window before he headed back inside.

"That was interesting Natsume."

A squeak was her reaction when Reborn spoke up; his fedora tilted forward hiding his face from her. She pursed her lips, instead of responding taking off the school bags and setting them on the floor.

"I suppose it was," she finally responded with as she leaned back into the comfortable seats, her arms crossing across her chest as she looked out the tinted car window. There was a slight scoff from the baby hitman as silence descended between the two.

She stared at the hitman, wondering what it was Kawahira had meant when he began to teach her thoroughly about flames. It was something something Tsuna always said once Reborn had shot him with a bullet and she was oddly curious at what the hitman thought about it.

"If I asked, would you explain what dying will means?" she asked, uncrossing her arms and settling them in her lap, idly cracking her knuckles one by one.

"You already asked."

The sandy haired girl groaned, going so far as to cast the hitman a dirty look only for her attention to be got by the car door opening. Tsuna and the boys piled in and once everyone was settled, the driver began the drive back to the Sawada home.

A thought occurred to Natsume as they neared the house, one that she really didn't care much for, but she knew the boys hadn't been on the prefect's good side since the incident in the reception room.

"Hibari's not going to like us skipping out today."

To see the smiling faces of the boys crash and the less than mortified expressions take their smiles places was nothing if not extremely hilarious.

* * *

It was Wednesday after school, nothing special had happened, unless the note she had received from one of Kawahira's messengers counted as special – which it didn't. Leaving school, Natsume realized the book Kawahira had loaned her last week hadn't been read at all.

"Ah man," she quietly whined, as she stood off to the side and began to search her bag only to not find the book. She felt a cold wave of sudden fear wash over her and promptly held her face in her hands as she had a foreboding feeling. "He's going to kill me," she finally uttered, her face blank as she didn't know how to process her inner turmoil. "I am dead, officially dead."

"Herbivore."

"I am much deader than I thought I would be," she reiterated, feeling the prefect's presence behind her. She straightened up quickly, (disregarding her moment as if it hadn't happened), a slight sniff leaving her as she turned to stare at every student's nightmare. "Hibari-san."

The prefect quirked a brow at her seeming to decide to completely ignore what he had just witnessed. It seemed the two were on a similar page today.

"Where is the other Sawada?"

And now they weren't. The dark haired boy had taken an interest in Tsuna, though if that was to return the favor of getting slapped with a slipper or to try to get to the infant that usually hung around them she wasn't sure. She opened her mouth to respond, it was always a good way to toughen up Tsuna – on her terms at least – only to close it as she realized she actually didn't know where her brother was.

"I honestly don't know, I stayed later than I usually do," she began her brows furrowing, as she cocked her hip out a bit. She tilted her head a bit to the side, lips pursing in thought, "He's probably either home or somewhere."

Hibari raised a brow at the motion her hands made when she said 'somewhere' and was about to say something – that was probably not nice – only to sneeze.

"Ah, Hibari-san - are you sick?"

Looking closer at the boy he did look slightly feverish, though one wouldn't normally be able to tell because no one actually saw the prefect up close as often as she did. And also why was that a thing? When did he decide to bother her?

"Mind yourself, Sawada," the teen snipped and began to walk away only to slightly stumble. He saved himself by catching himself on the wall. The look he gave her over her shoulder sent chills down her spine, but she hid it well with a deceivingly sweet smile – one that the prefect saw through, judging by his glare.

' _Midori tanabiku, namimori no~'_

She didn't snicker as Hibari's phone rang and he promptly answered it when he saw who was calling. The dark haired boy didn't say anything, though he did make a quiet ' _hmm_ ' before snapping his phone shut.

"Take me to the hospital."

Natsume was about to make a smart remark, yet Hibari beat her to it.

"The baby is there."

And if the _baby_ was there, he was there because of Tsuna. Her shoulders sagged a little as she realized she would miss today with Kawahira and she seemed to deflate even further as Hibari began to walk beside her.

"Don't you have Kusakabe for this?" she asked, wondering about the vice president as they exited the school. She was promptly ignored, though she saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye. "Is this your way of getting back at me for the reception room?"

No answer and she was left to stew in her thoughts. She clucked her tongue at the thought of missing a lesson with Kawahira and she could feel herself getting annoyed, making sure the prefect wasn't looking she focused enough flames in her pointer finger, drawing a lazy circle in the air and tapping at it once she was done focusing her thoughts into it.

It was a mimicry of what her teacher did and one that probably wouldn't make it too far as she didn't have much practice, though she had no doubt he would know why she missed today.

He was weird like that.

Another sneeze from Hibari had her turning her attention back on him and raising a brow at him in a silent question, the prefect easily ignored her. Natsume tsk'ed at him,

"You know maybe if you _actually_ wore your gakuran instead of just putting it on your shoulders, you could have avoided getting sick."

The whack to the head she received wasn't unwarranted, even though Natsume thought she had a point.

* * *

"So you all spent your day running from a mountain spirit?" questioned Natsume as she gathered more blankets and wrapped them around the children and tossed the rest at the boy's faces.

"You missed out, Natsume," Reborn didn't look at all haggard like the others, "It would have been nice to have some mist up there."

She ignored his comment and Dino's curious glance. Instead she responded, "I think I prefer sleeping in and having a quiet house."

Even Nana, as much as she loved the company and the children, had seemed a little more relaxed with everyone out of the house. The girl sat herself between I-pin and Lambo, the two children leaning against her as she looked at the teenagers and the one adult, sheepish looks appearing on their faces as they avoided eye contact with her.

"Honestly," sighed Natsume as she shook her head at them, "What am I going to do with the lot of you?"

"Eh?" It was Tsuna who made the sound and Natsume gave him a wry smile. The younger Sawada had noticed his sister becoming a little bit more accepting and he would quietly admit that to Kyoko-chan's influence. His sister rolled her eyes at his inquiring look and brushed him off.

"You lot grow on a person," there was for once a calm, _almost_ caring aura that seemed to come from the girl, something that she only reserved for her family and the children, "Like fungus, _very_ gross fungus."

And there went the mood, right out the window. That still didn't stop the satisfied smirk that appeared on Gokudera's face or the tension easing from Yamamoto's shoulders. Even Dino was let in, though he did receive a glare from her end, one he merely waved down.

* * *

 _xix_

 _I want to know where time went._

 _It was just October, now it was December._

 _Can time stop slipping through and just relax?_

* * *

"Forgive me!" exclaimed Natsume as she bowed before Kawahira, taking the man by surprise.

"For?"

Natsume stood up straight, though she refused to meet Kawahira's eye, instead she focused her attention above his head and could feel herself turning red in embarrassment.

"I lost the book."

It was quiet for a while making the fourteen year old want to squirm in place, but she didn't knowing better than to do so in front of the man before her. So when he started chuckling, she felt like a fool. Maybe it would have been better to not say anything.

"While I appreciate your honesty," a tome was placed on the table, one that looked very much like the one she had lost. This time she looked up, her eye caught his and she felt herself turn redder, "You were much too excited about actually getting the book, you didn't actually check it to see if it was real."

The sandy haired girl released the breath, her hands coming up to hide her face in them as she now refused to even look in the white haired man's direction.

"This was a test, Natsume," his voice was odd sounding, a little too gravelly, making her look up at him a frown marring her features, "The hitman Reborn is in your home, I wanted to see if he would do as I thought he would and I was not surprised."

To know that Reborn looked through her things and she hadn't realized it, upset her. She wouldn't put it past him; she was sure he noticed her disappearances better than Tsuna and probably even knew where she went, though he hadn't approached her about it.

"It is why I haven't contacted you since you sent your last message," here a smile quirked the corner of his mouth, "Which I must congratulate you on, it wasn't perfect but it was a good try."

She straightened up once more, her head held a little higher than before.

"We won't be sparring today, but we will be focusing more on the intent of your flames to create," he reached within his sleeves and pulled out a deck of cards. "I will pull a card and I want you to concentrate on bringing it out and giving it a solid form, don't be disappointed if you don't manage it on the first few tries."

She nodded her understanding and Kawahira cleared the coffee table with a wave his hand. The first card he pulled was a face card, the queen of hearts; Natsume tapped at the card with the pad of her pointer finger, brows furrowing in concentration as she tried to imagine the queen stretching up and out of the card.

The face on the card seemed to yawn, arms stretching up and trying to pull on something to pick themselves up. Seeing the card actually make a movement threw her off, so the idea – and the illusion fell.

"Hm," Kawahira hummed as he pulled another card, this time a 3 of clubs, giving Natsume a long pause. Pursing her lips she tapped the card as she had the first one and the three seemed to phase out of the card and lift into the air, before disappearing into dust and the previously blank card was filled once more. "Very good."

The game continued on, some cards were a miss and others worked for a second before they fell through. Halfway through the deck, Kawahira called a timeout and let the girl rest as she leaned back into the couch, enjoying the way it almost seemed to swallow her.

"Have you found the answer to the question I asked you last time?"

"I read through the rest of Medici's book and didn't find much, so I asked Reborn and he was just as helpful as he usually is."

"Oh?"

The girl made a frustrated noise as she thought about the home tutor, a hand running through her hair, picking out the strands with split ends and tugging at the small hairs. "He's more into causing trouble than actually being helpful," explained Natsume, "I mean I guess he _helps_ in his own odd way, I see it happening more to my brother than it does to me, he's more hands on with him and sometimes he'll make a remark towards me, but I don't get it."

"What don't you get?"

Kawahira was a sound board when they had these sessions and she had a feeling it probably wasn't smart, but the older man understood or at least tried too. And neither did he judge her or laugh off her concerns like she had expected him too.

"Why he's like that, it's just _not_ normal."

The man was silent for a while, taking this time to take a sip out of the mug he had prepared when they had first started. He seemed to really be thinking or he was just testing her patience, one or the other she was about to snap at him when he finally responded,

"Perhaps you already know the answer to that, are you just afraid to admitting it?"

That Reborn _wasn't_ what he appeared to be? Yeah it was much easier to treat him as an infant and banter with him, it was much better than – no, she wasn't going to even think that.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A smirk curled at the corners of Kawahira's lips, disappearing as he raised his mug to his lips once more. He smacked his lips once he finished drinking, giving the hazel eyed girl a look that made her feel as if he could see deep within her very being.

"Of course, then let us continue on with this."

And he began flipping through more cards.

* * *

Tsuna watched as his sister walked along side Kyoko and Hana, idly wondering if his sister would be willing to ask his crush a couple of questions. Natsume choose that moment to look over at him, giving him a questioning look only for him to wave her off.

It wouldn't be worth all the teasing he would receive from her.

"Why don't you just ask Kyoko herself?"

"Reborn!" squealed Tsuna, nearly tripping over himself as the hitman appeared from above, lowering himself from some type of lever. The brunette cast a quick look around, wondering why no one else caught on to what happened with the demon baby.

"My sneaking skills are unrivalled."

"W-what are you talking about now!?"

All Reborn did was smile at him.

"Never mind that! I just can't," he seemed to deflate as he said that, opting to lean against the wall before he felt himself crumble slowly further into himself.

"That wasn't depressing at all."

Tsuna stared at Reborn, shaking his head as he was quickly creeped out by the infant's unblinking gaze. He crossed his arms against his chest, sighing as he really thought about why he just couldn't.

"I just don't think I'm ready," he finally said, scratching at his cheek as he avoided looking at Reborn.

"Ready for what tenth?"

"Gokudera-kun!"

The look of concern on Gokudera's face threw Tsuna off, but he just waved him off. "Oh, it's nothing, just thinking stupid things!"

Gokudera frowned; looking around the hallway to see what would get Tsuna in a slump and quickly realized the problem.

"Is it about lawn head's sister?"

' _HIE! I'm I so obvious?'_

"I'm sure she'll come around eventually, you are meant to be the Decimo!"

Tsuna winced, though he gave Gokudera a halfhearted smile. The silver haired teen meant well, but Tsuna didn't think he realized his reluctance to be such a figure, nor to find attention in that way from his crush.

"Maybe, let's just go home yeah?"

' _Maybe I can relax and just think of something else.'_

* * *

 **AN:** I honestly did not mean to take so long with this, but this chapter has beent throwing me off and I really hate it. I also think Natsume's character ran away from me as did Hibari's. Oh well. Also I hope nothing seems to rushed (which it probably is) and things aren't too disjointed, I'm trying my best not to keep it like the manga and I'm pretty sure I'm failing - badly.

Please don't ask me about the book Natsume got from Kawahira, I had an idea for it, but seeing as I wrote that part at who knows what time in morning I completely forgot about it. Quick bail on that - I feel like Deadpool now forgetting my guns. Mm. I gave a little as to what happens in the lessons between the two characters, how the physical training usually goes and the mental aspect at least somewhat, Kawahira's a tough teacher so Natsume has to be on it.

Anything else, question me, prod me, burn me with it, go ahead, I deserve it (I somehow do).

A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story, like seriously you guys motivate me to keep going with this.

Hope this chapter was enjoyable for you guys!

 _Sorugao_


	7. V

**Disclaimer:** I don't own KHR.

* * *

New Years passed without an incident, though the game she had heard Tsuna lament about could perhaps count as one.

She wasn't involved, so it didn't count on her behalf.

A yawn escaped Natsume as she stretched up, enjoying the way her back cracked as she did so. Giving an appreciative hum, she returned to what she had been doing and finished stripping her bed of the sheets. Rolling them she threw them into the basket beside her, only for a bell to ring and the sound of paws tapping away on the wooden floor.

She gave a slight laugh, "Sorry Emi." The half-grown cat didn't give her a second look as she ran out the room, probably finding a better and quieter place to nap. "I should let her out for a bit," Natsume quietly thought to herself as she picked up the laundry basket and made her way downstairs.

Her feet were quiet as she padded down the stairs and a soft 'ping' sound as she opened the backdoor. Turning to the left she slid open the door to the small room that housed the washer and dryer and began to throw the blankets and covers into the washer. Adding in the detergent and a few beeps later, the washer was filling up and whirring away.

Leaving the red basket atop the dryer, the sandy haired teen made her way back inside, leaving the door ajar for her cat to make its way in and out of the house. She idly wondered if there was still enough cat food and litter; finding herself in the kitchen, she checked the cupboard where Nana usually kept the cleaning supplies.

Unfurling the bag of food, she noted that it was a little low and that the cat litter was completely out. There was a jingle, a soft meow, and furry body rubbing itself against the side of her thigh.

"Hey Emi," she greeted the amber eyed cat, petting its head earning a chirp from the small feline. "You want to go to the pet store today?"

She'd be able to ask and probably give the cat its shots, if not she could find out about a veterinary that would do that for her, along with getting the cat spayed. Emi responded with a meow, curling herself around Natsume's ankles as the girl stood up and led her out of the cupboard.

"Just got to finish washing my things and then we'll go," she'd be back by the time they finished drying and would be able to wrap herself up in warm blankets to stave off the cold.

She spent the next thirty minutes laying belly down on the floor, creating purple mice and smaller cats for Emi to chase around. Within the first couple minutes, Natsume though that the creations were a little too dull and focused more on giving them life and color – when Emi finally pounced upon a greyish-purple mouse, it squealed in her grip instead of instantly dispersing.

The time went by like that until a beeping sound came from outside, signaling the end of the wash. Picking herself up and heading outside once again, she finished putting her things into the dryer. Closing the door behind her and locking it, Natsume made her way upstairs, changing out of her sweats and Tsuna's hoodie and put on a burgundy long sleeved thermal with black pants. Picking out a black cardigan, she slipped on her shoes and headed out of her room, only to come right back in and pull out a plastic container from beneath her bed.

From there she grabbed a ridiculously bright pink leash and a harness. Turning around in the same kneeling position, about to push herself up Natsume was met with Reborn's visage.

"Ciassosu."

"Ah!" she yelped, losing her balance and falling onto her behind. She pointed at him, sputtering a little as her heart settled from the sudden scare, "What is wrong with you!? You don't sneak up on someone like that!"

"Your awareness is lacking."

Her mouth was held open as she gaped at him, head shaking slightly from side to side. She ended up mouthing 'no', her hands coming up to cross in front of her as she began to deny his existence.

"Your ability to try to deny the truth seems to run in the family."

"I am so done with you," she finally said, looking up and casting a pleading look to the ceiling, "If anyone can hear me, take this child away from me."

"Cute," Reborn said his mouth curling into a smile. Perhaps he enjoyed a little too much in causing people great unrest, but it wasn't as if he had much to do. He watched the girl before him pout, picking herself up and walking past him. He heard her mutterings, not that they could have hidden much from him anyways, and it made him smirk.

" _You_ are staying here, Reborn," he heard her say from halfway down the stairs, her voice echoing up, "Wherever you go, chaos follows and I want peace and quiet for once."

The hitman would have rolled his eyes and had commented something else; instead he followed her and watched her as she coaxed her cat into the harmless harness. Unhappy as the cat was to be put in such a thing, she behaved well; the only way to know how the feline felt was by her constantly twitching tail.

"Relax, its only for a short time," promised Natsume as she prodded the cats nose and was given a rather impassive look for doing such a thing. Ignoring the cat for the moment, Natsume turned to look in his direction, "I'm going to the pet store, I need to get a couple things for this one," her hazel eyes strayed to the chameleon that was always purchased on his fedora, "Would Leon like anything?"

Thoughtful she was, he would give her that. For someone who was boringly mundane – or at least she had started out as – Natsume had wised up, whether she noticed that was unknown. At least more so than Tsuna, who still tried to deny his fate, Natsume had taken it in stride almost a little too well – even going to the point of jokingly giving up her brother as a sacrifice the first time he had mentioned it.

" _You_ are being too intense," the finger that was about to poke his forehead was caught in his pudgy hand and for a brief moment he could feel his anger flare. Her hand was obviously much larger than his and if he had had his old body, he could have easily dwarfed hers. "Seriously, _way_ to intense."

She slipped her finger out of his hold, opting to grab at his hand and hold it gingerly in hers. Reborn looked up eyes narrowed and was for a moment caught off guard, but quickly covered it up. Her eyes were sharp, so unlike the wide innocent ones of her brothers. The usually hazel orbs were filmed over with light amber and something about that soothed him.

"Come on, you're going with me I guess," she said as she made to pull away, only to pause. The sky flames were gone and instead a curious gaze remained, "Hey you don't think you could call one of Dino's men to give us a ride, it's a little cold outside and I don't want you getting sick."

Reborn rolled his eyes, yes because sick was the last thing he needed to be.

* * *

She had put Reborn in the shopping cart seat, Emi cuddling up to him and Dino of all people trailing beside her.

"You don't have to stay, I'm sure you have better things to do." Reborn easily picking up on her usual tactic to push unknown people away. Sure she had met the blond mafia boss, but that was about it, the two only really knew the other's name unlike the way the blond had already set himself up in front of the other boys.

"No worries, I'm happy to help out in any way I can," Dino smiled, hands held behind his back as he looked around. Maybe he could get Enzio something while he was here?

"Right," the way she said that let him know how much she believed him, but the blond shrugged it off. Really it was a wonder to see how different the twins could be and how similar they could be in certain aspects - like in their belief of others being genuine about their feelings, though Tsuna wasn't as bad as his sister seemed to be. "Could I trust you to get the cat litter while I go ask one of the clerks something?"

"Of course you can," piped up Reborn, his customary smile already in place as he looked at Dino, who blanched at the idea of being left alone with his old tutor. Small hands wound themselves through soft fur as Reborn stared down at his not-as-useless-as-he-thought student. Natsume glanced between the two and knowing that maybe it was a bad idea to leave them alone, she still decided to leave the two on their own.

"Okay, just, don't destroy anything….. _please_ ," she muttered the last word under her breath as she turned away and headed to where they held the animals in cages. If she remembered the last time she was here they had a pamphlet of a sort that listed vaccinations dates or something along the lines of that.

Dino's smile strained as he began to push the cart, eyes searching the aisles for what Tsuna's sister had asked of him.

"If you refer to her as such, she won't like you much."

Already used to Reborn's tricks, Dino instead turned the cart down an aisle where he found what he was looking for, "What do you mean by that?"

There was a sigh and the blond's head was smacked.

"These twins are very _intuitive_ , even if they don't look it," responded Reborn as he leaned back, Leon transforming from a fly swatter back into his regular form, "Tsuna is easier to get along with than Natsume," and a very good reason for that, not that Reborn would tell his student, "And they are their own person, so think of them as such."

It was hard to tell, but Reborn saw it in the way Natsume had treated Gokudera and Yamamoto; Gokudera quickly saw her as someone else instead of Tsuna's sister and thus was treated a little differently, while Yamamoto had seen her as Tsuna's sister, instead of herself. Though perhaps the falling off of the roof with her baby brother in tow was another way to get on her bad side.

Reborn was subject to that every once in a while when he decided to up his idea of fun, the girl wasn't as harsh as she used to be, but he had a feeling she was getting better at hiding how she felt.

"Is this litter fine?" spoke up Dino as he gestured at a clear bucket with a red lid.

"Yes that's fine."

Dino jumped, quickly turning around to face a smirking Sawada. It was almost weird to see an expression on such a child-like face, he could see how unnerving it could be.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Dino sighed, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head and he saw her smirk smooth out a little and become more of a smile.

"Easily scared, Dino-san? Aren't you some big bad mafia boss?" she questioned as she walked up beside him and grabbed the litter off the shelf. Dino moved to help, seeing as the bucket was heavy, but he fumbled and the bucket ended up falling on the floor. Natsume hummed as she bent to pick it up, "It's fine, I can do this."

The rest of the time in the pet store was spent with Reborn making smart, yet embarassing comments at Dino and Natsume just shaking her head at the tutor's antics.

Seriously did he always have to harass everyone?

* * *

It was the day before school started and Natsume had finally gotten the chance to get Kyoko, along with Hana, to go eat cake with her. The trio had been deciding on what they wanted – or more like the other two were seeing as Natsume had already made her decision. Her mouth watered as the young man across the counter handed over her box of cream cheese pastries, along with a small cup of hot mocha.

The other two had finally decided and once they finished paying, the trio went to sit at an open table and began to eat their treats. Slipping off her coat and letting it hang off the back of the chair, Natsume wrapped one hand around her coffee, enjoying the heat against her cold hand, while the other opened up her box of goodies.

"This is so good," she nearly cried as she took a bite of her pastry, "It's almost too good to be true."

"See I told you, you would like it here!" grinned Kyoko as she sipped her cup of matcha green tea latte, trading a chocolate croissant with Hana as the girl handed her a guava filled pastry. "Really I just love that their pastries are always warm."

Natsume saw Hana roll her eyes at the auburn haired girl's enthusiasm and shared a crooked smile with her as she caught the other girl's eye.

"We know Kyoko," the two spoke in unison, blinking at one another before giggling.

Sometimes with the other girl it was just so obvious where her thoughts were going that it was easy to just respond in time together.

"You know I've been hearing rumors from the other girls that you're awful friendly with Yamamoto and Gokudera, Natsume," Hana brought up as she had her fill and just idly swirled the remainder of her tea. There was a snort that came from the sandy haired teen, followed by her lips pursing and her eyes narrowing as she leaned her elbow onto the table to hold her chin up with her hand. The unimpressed look fit Natsume's face to well and was often seen by mostly everyone that didn't exactly know the girl. It also served as a great response to Hana's inquiry.

"I'm sure there have been some lovely things said about me in general," Natsume grouched out, mildly glaring at Hana who laughed. She ran her hands through her hair and idly realized she forgot to get that haircut she'd been wanting but put it to the back of her mind. "If they want them so much they can have them."

"Oh really?" Even Kyoko turned to look at Hana, her brow furrowing wondering where her best friend was going with this.

"Yes really, if you're so worried that I'd take Gokudera from you, you have nothing to worry about Hana."

Hana scoffed crossing her arms against her chest, "I believe you, no need to say such dreadful things."

A staring contest ensued, Kyoko looking between the two as she tried to see what had just happened but ultimately decided to let it slide as the two burst out laughing.

"That was a terrible thing to say Natsume."

All the girl did was smile, eyes crinkled almost completely shut in her glee.

"So have you finished the homework?" Kyoko brought up as she wiped her hands, folding them over and placing her chin on them after she was done. There was a 'huh' sound that came from Natsume followed by the girl bowing her head forward.

"I knew I forgot something!" was what the two girls heard the other say. "It's not a lot that sensei gave us, I think," spoke Natsume as she straightened up, "I think she only assigned an English essay?"

Hana shook her head, arms crossed against her chest, "Well you better get started if you want to finish in time."

Natsume waved her hand, "Eh, if I don't do it I'll still be passing, so it's not too much to worry about honestly."

"Natsume you know they start looking at your grades now depending on which high school you want to go too," Hana responded, a little worried at her friend's blaze attitude. She knew the sandy haired girl was smart, she just didn't push herself, and she would hate to see her friend be left behind because of her lack of effort.

All Natsume did was a shrug and before Hana could continue on, Kyoko interrupted, a hand placing itself on Hana's shoulder, "Ne, let's not worry about that, we still have two more years left before that happens."

"I agree with Kyoko," piped up Natsume, a ridiculous grin on her face – it was all teeth and it kind of put Hana on edge – she often forgot the other rumors that spoke about the sandy haired girl being a terror. "Let's just enjoy the now," and with that the conversation was put aside, though judging by the look in Hana's eye, it wouldn't be the last of it.

' _It's really nice to have people that actually care,'_ though Natsume as she took a sip from her drink, hazel eyes twinkling with a little more emotion. _'I almost forgot what it was like to have friends.'_

* * *

The first week of school went by without a hitch.

Natsume turned in her essay, along with other assignments that had been given – completed and done well enough to receive at least an 80 on them – and only because Reborn had turned into a hellion when he realized that his students had slacked off on their school work.

That was the first time Reborn had put them under pressure with tiny bombs that would go off if they hadn't completely an assignment in the time limit he had given with an above average gade. Tsuna was still trying to wipe off the scorch marks and she was about to suggest that they just cover it up with a rug.

He also started them on extra work that had nothing to do with school, like waking them up at the crack of dawn and running them ragged, and how almost every item in the house had a sticky note with the Italian name for it. There was also awareness training, which was completely stupid because it was just Reborn showing up in the worst disguises and scaring the crap out of them.

At least Dino had been a part of the last one, so it was a funny moment to think back on if she was ever feeling a little down.

She knew there was more to come, but for the moment it was just that and she was kind of glad for that. The bell rang, signifying the end of class and the start of the lunch period, Natsume got up along with everyone else, only to be called by the sensei.

"Yes, Kim-sensei?"

The light haired instructor pulled out one of her assignments and placed it facing her. Tapping an acrylic nail at the top, the red marking caught the hazel eyed girl's attention, "I was wondering if you would be willing to be a tutor, Sawada-san."

The perfect score at the top of her paper made Natsume cringe, something that the woman before her caught, making the sensei smile in a comforting manner, "You can say no, I was just wondering, seeing as you have a very good grasp of the English language."

"Ah, thank you sensei, but I don't really have the time," and this was the truth, with her time being split between school, home, and Kawahira it was enough to frazzle her at times. She was relieved to see the understanding look on her teacher's face, though she didn't show it.

"Well, if you ever find yourself with free time, I'm sure some people will be happy for a little extra help."

Natsume bowed, thanked Kim-sensei once again and left.

Exiting the room, her feet automatically followed the familiar path towards the usual lunch spot, while she looked over her paper. There were some markings here and there, a comment or two about the proper use of 'there' and 'their', which wasn't uncommon for a paper that had been written and barely looked over the night before.

Turning the page, she didn't get the chance to read it.

"Tsume!" Tsuna's voice came in, his arms hooking around one of hers and pulling her in the opposite direction of where she was going. She barely stumbled and let herself be guided away and led out into the school court yard, where Tsuna tugged her towards a tree the two had used to eat under at the beginning of the school year.

"Hey, Tsuna," she asked, her hand coming up to rub at the brunette boy's back as he bent over breathing heavily, "What's happened?"

She was concerned and wanted to push the matter, but knew better to do so, Tsuna would speak either as soon as he caught his breath or until he was ready.

"We haven't eaten together in forever," he said straightening up and rubbing the back of his head with the hand that had grabbed her, while the other held out a little bag filled with sweets.

And it wasn't a slap to the face and he hadn't meant it to sound like it, but she hadn't remembered the last time it had been just the two of them. She smiled, the hand on his back moving to his hair and ruffling it causing him to pout.

"Did you get me banana bread from the cafeteria?" she asked as she pulled the two of them down onto the ground and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

"It's the only thing you like that they have," he responded, rolling his eyes at her as he picked out a wrapped muffin from the bag and handing it to her, "Orange juice?"

"Do you have to ask?"

The two ate in silence, each taking sips out of their shared drink, enjoying the calm and thanking that for once there was no chaos happening around them.

"How's your class going?" asked Tsuna after he finished the sandwich he had gotten for himself, trash crumpling in his hand.

She brought her hand up to her mouth as she chewed, brows furrowing a little as she answered, "Not too bad I would say."

She turned to look at her brother, taking in the image of his relaxed features, how his hands unconsciously continued to clench at the plastic wrapper, she gave him a half smile, her eyes brightening a little as she reached over and poked at his hand.

"Throw that away," she said, taking another piece of her muffin and popping it into her mouth, "Are you asking because of the parent day thing coming up?"

Tsuna sighed, a sheepish smile crossing his features as he listened to her and threw the trash into the bag, and then proceeded to snatch the rest of food out of her hand.

"Hey, you already ate your food."

"You drank all the juice," he countered as he finished off the last bit of the bread and threw the wrapper of that away. She hmph'ed at that and proceeded to poke him.

"You didn't answer my question, tuna-fish."

The boy sighed, leaning further back into the tree and stretching out his legs in front of him.

"It feels like a lot has happened in such a little time," Tsuna finally said, his face scrunching up just a little bit as his arms crossed in front of him. "I don't know what to expect now."

"Ah," she brought her knees up to her chest, crossing her arms on top of them and resting her chin on them, "I see what you mean."

Natsume pursed her lips as she thought about what she could say to comfort her brother, when an idea popped into her head. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on an image and focused on bringing it out in front of her – judging by the gasp that came from her brother she may have succeeded.

She opened on eye to peek, hoping she hadn't ruined it. She blinked both of her eyes as she saw Tsuna standing up, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the scenery before him. She enjoyed the sound of rolling waves, the feel of the sea breeze against her face even if it was all fake.

"Tsume," she looked back at Tsuna who gave her an awed look. "You can do that?"

"Well, it's something you didn't expect now did you?" she grinned at him as she pushed herself up and went to stand beside him. She grasped his hand, intertwining her fingers with his and held up their hands, "It's sometimes nice not knowing what's going to happen," she murmured, looking into her brother's eyes, "It makes life more exciting, doesn't it?"

Tsuna laughed, his eyes closing as he shook his head.

"It's better than before," Tsuna smiled, untangling his hand from his sister's. "I'm kind of happy how things have gotten, even if…." He trailed off, he gestured to the school with his chin where the others were, "They're all a little crazy."

"We're all a little crazy, Tsuna, you just need to find yours Mr. Underwear Boy," she began to walk towards the school, leaving a sputtering Tsuna behind a wicked grin on her face.

* * *

"You know most people say thank you or ' _You are such a sweet person Natsume_!"

All the white haired man did was tilt is head to the side as he quietly munched on the food she had brought him. Natsume shook her head and thought why she even bothered, this hadn't been the first time Kawahira had done this nor would it be the last. Instead she settled herself behind the counter, claiming the other stool as hers and leaning against the counter top.

"I wonder how you stay in business, no one ever comes in here," she commented idly, resting her chin in her hand as her eyes strayed towards the front, watching the people pass by.

She felt a flick against the side of her head, but ignored it.

"This shop is for the strange and misunderstood, the unusual people with unique tastes," it was poetic sounding when Kawahira said it like that, yet she still felt insulted.

"Which makes you beyond weird if you're supposed to bring in 'the strange and misunderstood,'" she rolled her eyes, giving her teacher a mischievous smile. The mild glare she received was worth her cheek, though she didn't like how he handed her a rag and spray. His smile was anything but sincere when he straightened back up in his seat, taking another bite of the steak and cheese sandwich she had brought him.

"Go on," he motioned with his hand, gesturing to the store, "There are many things that need cleaning today and if you have so much energy to be smart with me, you can do so while cleaning my store."

She groaned but did as she was told.

"I have a feeling the only reason you called for me today was so I could do this specifically," she muttered under her breath as she walked around and towards the front, looking at which of the cases needed the most cleaning. All the while Kawahira smirked behind his food, enjoying his sullen student's not so quiet remarks.

That'd teach her to be smart with him.

* * *

"So will you be going to both of our classes?" questioned Natsume as she picked out the carrots and pieces of corn from her food.

"I will try, Natsume," Nana responded as she helped Lambo cut his piece of meat, "Though I'm sure you and Tsuna are doing very well in your classes."

The twins made quick eye contact and both shrugged, knowing full well what their mother meant. As much as their mother tended to be a little over the top and want the best out of her kids, the woman had learned to accept her children as they were.

When they were younger it was constant arguing with them to do better and telling them what would their father think of them. After being around said man for a few times, Natsume figured that as long as they tried, that was their best.

She bit down on her lower lip, idly poking at a piece of meat with her fork, Natsume set down her fork. Perhaps thinking about Iemitsu and eating her least favorite food wasn't such a good idea.

"Could we make that stew I like tomorrow?"

"Nikujaga?"

"Yes."

"I'll see if I have what I need for it."

Leaving at that, Natsume gestured to her food at Tsuna who all but took it off her plate. She kept the vegetables, though she put aside the corn and only finished off the broccoli and carrots. Once done she excused herself from the table, picking up her plate and taking it to the kitchen where she rinsed it off.

As she was doing that the house phone began to go off, the tone making her freeze in place. The silence that ensued in the other room gave her pause and Natsume was about to go answer the phone, only for the sound of a chair being pushed back and her mother's figure appearing in the doorway.

Natsume saw the way her mother's hands shook, how she clutched one to her chest and the other reached for the phone. She counted the seconds it took for Nana to take the phone and answer, watching closely for her mother's reaction.

"Hello dear," her mother's voice shook a little, but the false happiness that she forced through should have been obvious, "Isn't it late over there right now?"

It'd been months since Iemitsu had last called, shouldn't Nana be questioning that?

"Oh yes, we've been well, the kids and I," her mother spoke, turning her back to Natsume and leaning against the counter, secluding herself in the little corner. "You wouldn't believe how rowdy our home has been, dear, it's so _full_ if life."

In the other room she heard a chair pushed back roughly, a not so quiet question from Lambo and the sound of footsteps heading up the stairs. Natsume released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Setting the dish in the washer, she turned to go up with her brother, leaving her mother to a more private conversation.

Before she left, she placed a hand on the crook of her mother's elbow to get her attention and waved her other hand. She chose to ignore the tears she saw and giving Nana her warmest smile she headed upstairs, to comfort another one of her family.

" _Ane,_ why is Tsuna-nii mad?" Lambo asked, his gaze still in the direction of where the brunette had gone.

She brushed her hand through the small boys thick hair, idly picking up a napkin and wiping some sauce from his cheek.

"I'll go see why he's like that, okay?"

The oddly serious look, followed by the nod on Lambo's face was unusual, but she knew the hyperactive child had his moments.

"Stay here and wait for mama, alright?"

"Yes!" and he dug back into his plate of food, fork slightly scraping against the bottom of the plate as he did so.

She continued forward, pushing in the chair that Tsuna had occupied and headed upstairs, trying her best to not make too much noise as she did. When she reached the top, the door on the right was shut and judging by the silence, Tsuna was either stewing quietly or about to lose it.

Natsume rapped her knuckles lightly against the door, the little fish sign moving just a bit with it. There was a quiet grumble and she took it as a sign to enter.

Her greeting from her little brother was a pillow to the face, which she caught and held to her chest. Closing the door behind her and locking it, she turned and walked towards the bed, where she could see Tsuna's figure hidden beneath he blankets.

"I said go away," his voice was muffled and she ignored that too, sitting herself on the edge and lightly whacking her brother with the pillow.

"Stop that," she said, letting the pillow go and reaching for the covers, only for Tsuna to tighten his hold over them and entangle himself even more under them, "Tsuna come on," she tugged harder to no avail.

"No! Don't tell me what to do!"

This took her back when they were younger and he would have a fit. It would have usually been over a toy or a snack one of them had and while Nana's solution had often led to the two being sent to their then shared room, it didn't stop Tsuna's tantrum.

"I'm not telling you what to do, Tsuna," her voice was soft, often a tone she would take on with Lambo or I-pin when they got upset. Hearing it made Tsuna go quiet and ever so slowly he pulled back the covers, sitting up as he did so. "Talk to me?"

Tsuna hid his face in his hands, pressing the palms of both hands against his eyes as he rubbed at them He felt his bed shift, a weight settling beside him as a pair of arms wrapped around him.

"You don't have to talk you know," Natsume assured, resting her forehead against the side of his temple, "It's still early and I'm sure the boys – or even just Gokudera will be willing to do something."

And that was odd to hear, that he could go to someone else if he wanted too, but why would he do that? The guys were his friends, perhaps maybe his best friends, but they hadn't broached any topics of their private life, nor did they seem inclined to ask about his home life.

"I can summon Reborn-"

"Don't!" he jerked up, eyes wide though slightly red from the constant rubbing he had done to them, "Don't even joke about that," he didn't mean to laugh, but he thought it funny yet terrible idea, "He'll probably shoot me or something, I don't know."

He tapered off, not knowing what else to think or say at the moment.

"You know big sister loves you right?"

Natsume only ever spoke like that when she had an idea that he probably wouldn't agree with and would try convincing him to do it.

"Yes?" answered a bit hesitant, "What are you thinking?"

"We fight dad."

" _What._ "

It was absurd and not only a bad idea – their father had been in this stupid mafia business he probably knew how to kill a man with a napkin – it would probably upset their mother if she ever found out what they were _thinking_ of doing.

"You heard me," she chirped, bouncing a little in place, "I mean, not straight up fight him, but you can distract him and I'll jump on his back and do stuff."

The last time Natsume had an idea like that they had been suspended from school for three days _and_ not only that this was the man who willingly offered up his only son to the mafia.

"You're crazy."

"Am I? Or are you?"

Tsuna scoffed, though the smile that quirked at his mouth spoke differently about how he really felt.

"Or we can shun him? Make him feel bad for everything he's done?"

"He's still our dad, we can't _do_ that."

Natsume sighed, and Tsuna noted how her brow furrowed and where those tears in her eyes? He was not about to have his sister cry again, be it his fault or there dad's. So he hugged her, pulling her down to where he could rest his chin on top of her head. He felt her let go of another breath and knew for certain she was trying her best not to cry.

"I wonder if he even understands what he's done to us," she finally said after a while, her body relaxing a little, "Of what it does to mama."

Tsuna ran his fingers through his sister's hair, something he rarely did as Natsume always had her hair up. The hair was almost his color, just shades lighter and it brought back another memory of when they were younger and his sister's hair was similar to their father's.

"We'll show him," and it was Tsuna's turn for his eyes to burn a dark gold color, "We'll definitely show him."

* * *

 _xx_

 _Sawada Nana felt as if her heart was about to burst. There on her door step was her husband, the father of her children, the man she was completely and utterly in love with. Her hand came up to her mouth, her head shaking as she truly processed what was happening._

" _I'm home Nana."_

 _She cried and flung herself at him, arms circling around his neck as he caught her and held her against him. His head rested against the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent and leaving a quick kiss against her pulse._

 _She tightened her arms around him, wanting to bury herself into his chest and to never be without him again._

" _Mama?"_

 _There was a hiccup, another echo of her title._

" _Whose that?"_

 _And didn't that break her heart? She pulled away from Iemitsu, slipping her hand into his and tugging him in. The hazel hues of her husband looked at her curiously, before his gaze switched over to his children._

 _Hazel caught hazel and Iemitsu was struck._

 _Those big bright eyes, the rounded cheeks, the way her nose was more pointed than round like Nana's, the way her lower lip just stuck out in a pout. The hair that was a complete mixture of his and his loving wife's, the little girl before him was_ his.

 _The little girl's eyes seemed to frown up at him, a cute motion on the chubby face, and he noticed when she tugged the boy beside her behind her._

 _His gaze moved over him and his heart clenched – it was like looking at Nana, her coloring, her nose, and even her chin, but the way he frowned, the slightly worried look, it was similar to what Iemitsu did in times of deep thought or when he didn't know what to do._

 _He knelt beside his wife, soaking in his children and remembering that they looked nothing like they did three years ago._

 _They were six, about to turn seven and there was a pang of guilt there._

" _Tsu-kun, Tsu-chan," Nana's voice quivered a little, but he noted the happiness in her tone, "Meet your papa."_

" _The man in the picture?" it was his boy, Tsuna who spoke, his head slightly turning in the direction of the picture he talked about. Iemitsu received a grin, one where the bottom teeth were missing and he couldn't help but return it._

" _That same papa," he responded, making his voice light so that the usual baritone of his wouldn't put them off from him._

 _Tsuna glowed with his next smile, pulling along his sister as he raced and crashed into Iemitsu's waiting arms._

" _See I told you he would come, Tsutsu!"_

" _Go on Natsume," Nana's voice was encouraging and had taken on a different tone, "You can trust him."_

 _As he curled one arm around Tsuna, he untangled his other hand from Nana's hand and reached out for Natsume. He held out his hand to her and he took in how long she considered it, before she reluctantly reached out for him._

 _He was gentle with his eldest child, noting the way she seemed to tense up, before relaxing slowly against him and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead._

" _You_ can _trust me."_

 _He sneaked a glance at Nana, who seemed to understand what he was asking. She gave him another one of beautiful smiles as she got up, heading quickly to the kitchen to finish the lunch she had been making._

 _Now with his wife gone, Iemitsu flared a bit of his flames and was oddly surprised when he felt a familiar and completely foreign nudge back. He didn't have to look at either children's faces to know of the curious looks they sported, nor the dark golden color that seemed to have clashed over their natural hues._

 _He let out a laugh and easily picked up the two of them, balancing them both as he headed to where Nana had gone._

" _Papa you play with us?" asked Tsuna, nearly bouncing in his arms._

" _Sure_ _," chuckled Iemitsu, "Would you like to join in too, Natsume-chan?"_

 _The young girl merely gave him queer look, before slowly nodding her head yes. After that it didn't take too long for his daughter to stay by his side, watching closely how he played with either of them, yet keeping an exceptionally sharp eye when he would throw Tsuna up into the air._

 _He smiled, his heart soaring a little higher than it should have as he played with the two until his lovely wife called them._

 _Iemitsu swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, lifting the two children up onto his shoulders as they reentered the house. He sat them in their seats and as the food was served, Tsuna began to jabber about school and what he and Natsume do, all the while Natsume would only put in her own two cents when his son paused for breath._

 _Is this what he's missed out on?_

* * *

Parent participation day had passed by fine on her behalf, Tsuna on the other hand had claimed it a disaster, and Nana had said it was fun. Reborn hadn't said anything on the matter, merely tipping his fedora forward and smiled as if he knew exactly what was going to happen.

Time passed as it tended too, January passed with little excitement and February began with _another_ young boy being brought into the Sawada household. Cute as he was, Natsume kept her distance from Fuuta, a bit wary of the little boy's ability.

' _You'll be one of the most feared woman one day,'_ had been the idle comment he had made when he first saw her and she all but shrugged and patted him on the head as she left the room, ignoring the look she got from Haru – who showed up every once in a while unannounced, which slightly irked the sandy haired teen.

Like today.

"We're making Valentine's chocolates!"

"With who exactly?" asked Natsume as she took off her shoes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and sounding as if she already knew the answer to that question.

Kyoko and Haru both brightened and out stepped Bianchi, basking in the attention from the two girls.

"Will you join us Natsume?"

"I can just buy my own chocolates tomorrow," the girl responded, looking over her shoulder as she heard a familiar yell, "They'll be even cheaper."

Kyoko pouted, arms crossing beneath her chest, "Oh come on Natsume-chan!"

Reborn and Tsuna choose that moment to walk in, Tsuna in a state of undress and Reborn whispering something in his ear. Blinking slightly at whatever Reborn had said, Tsuna turned to look between Natsume, the girls, and Bianchi. His eyes widened just a bit, looking a little bugged out.

"Are you making chocolates this year Tsume?" his eyes were pleading and she really couldn't turn down her brother when he was all but begging her.

With a sigh of defeat she responded, "I guess I am now."

There was a cheer and as the others headed back into the kitchen, Tsuna grabbed her arm, "Please don't let Bianchi-san cook anything."

She snorted, reaching for the hair tie around her wrist and pulling up her hair, "I'll try."

Natsume of course let Bianchi make something, though she made sure that went to a certain someone. No one got away with punching her, not even if it was on accident.

* * *

 **AN:** I did not get lost on the road of life, but this was a kind of difficult to finish. This is more filler, getting the day to day (day to weeks, day to months?) because why ruin the calm so early on? This is just more interactions between the characters, see how Natsume fits in and changes up what would have usually been a more troublesome day.

I don't have much to say actually, so I hope you guys enjoyed this and I hope to be moving along more.

Hope you lot enjoyed~

 _Sorugao_


	8. VI

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

* * *

In the few months that she had been training with Kawahira, her crystal collection had grown. Picking out the clumpy blue mineral out of the water she had left it soaking in, Natsume let it rest in her palm, her head tilting to the side as it began to glow. Beyond her she could sense the other energies in the house, the soothing aura of her brothers, the tranquil one of Yamamoto, the wildness of Gokudera, and the crackling one of Lambo's. There were others, but they were more dimmed down and she wondered if other than Reborn, who was perhaps the other one that was muted.

Pushing that thought to the side, she placed the mineral into a jewelry box that she had bought in Kawahira's shop. Placing it in the slot where she had labelled azurite, Natsume did the same with the other two she had soaking. The red amethyst seemed to twinkle in the last remaining rays of sun and as with the azurite was placed into its own slot.

The last one was the first crystal she had received from Kawahira and that she dried off and reattached it back to a chain, putting it over her head and letting it lay against her chest. The lepidolite was calming and was the easiest for her apart from the clear quartz to work with. Closing the lid of the jewelry box, she made sure to put it away in a place where the others wouldn't get to it – in the far back corner of her underwear drawer.

With that done, she padded her way around the room, picking up the pieces of clothe she tended to just take off and drop wherever she was and putting them away. Once she finished that, she sat herself on the edge of her bed, head tilting up to look at the ceiling. Today had been pretty calm, only minor incidents of random explosions and screeching, compared to the usual house shaking and screaming matches that ensued when Gokudera and Yamamoto were in the same room.

"Though that is more Gokudera than Yamamoto," she muttered, running her fingers through her hair.

"Tsu-chan!" she heard her mother's voice call from downstairs, "Tsu-chan you have a friend here!"

"Coming!"

She looked down at what she was wearing and with a shrug went on downstairs, meeting her mother at the bottom who ushered her towards the front door before heading to the kitchen table where Lambo and I-pin were doing some work.

"Hana?"

The dark haired girl was there, a familiar smirk on her face as she raised her hand, giving a peace sign in greeting. "I got your text, Kyoko couldn't come but she sends her wishes."

"Text?"

Hana rolled her eyes at her, knowing that this was something the other girl had a tendency to do. "You're going on a trip aren't you?"

Natsume nodded, her mother had one a trip for three on a cruise, "Oh yeah! I forgot I texted you from Tsuna's phone," she had done it earlier in the day and it had slipped her mind that she had done so. "Come in! This is actually good that Kyoko didn't come."

"Are those monkeys here?" asked Hana as she stepped inside, slipping out of her shoes and following Natsume upstairs. The dark haired girl waved at the children who enthusiastically waved back at her, a shiver escaped Hana, one that Natsume noticed and she lightly bit down on her tongue to not laugh at her friend.

"Surprise, surprise," she said instead , used to her friend's slip of calling the boys monkeys and her reaction to the two children, though not as severe as the first time she had met them, "I got something for Kyoko a while back for her birthday and you as well."

"And here I am without anything," said Hana, walking into Natsume's room when the other girl held the door open for her.

"You just being here is enough, Hana."

A snort came from the girl who went towards the cat that had made itself comfortable at the small desk Natsume had in her room. Petting the feline, Hana looked over at Natsume who was pulling out a wrapped package and holding out a smaller box for her to grab.

"I thought you were joking, Natsume," Hana was slightly surprised that the other girl had gotten her something, but she wasn't ungrateful about it. To know that the other girl did this for no other reason than to do so meant a lot coming from her. "Thank you."

"Open it!"

And Hana did, eyes widening a little at the silver bracelet within. She pulled it out, setting the box down and inspected the piece of jewelry, eyes falling on the small kokeshi doll attached to it and the little bead that had white daisies inscribed on it. Hana looked up, holding out her wrist and the bracelet towards Natsume, who understood her gesture and clasped it around her wrist.

"You have one too?" asked Hana as she saw a similar bracelet on the sandy haired girls wrist. Natsume held out her wrist and she could make out a little black cat charm on it.

"Kyoko gave it to me for my birthday, along with a good luck charm that she made."

The teen nodded her head, a slight smile appearing on her face, "Of course she would."

"But I had no clue what to get her for a charm, so I just got her this," she gestured to the package she set on the edge of the desk, "Hopefully she likes it."

"Is it cute?"

"Hell yeah it better be," responded Natsume, her hand coming to rest on her hip a cocky smile on her face, "You know Kyoko better than I do, but anything cute and that she could cuddle with is great."

Hana laughed, reaching out for the package, "I can agree to that."

The two continued with mundane chatter as they headed back downstairs, avoiding the cackling child who was chasing around I-pin. Fuuta sat on the couch a book in his lap as he watched the two five years old run around the living room, a pencil in his hand as he scribbled down whatever came to him.

"You should look into getting your own phone," Hana said as she put her shoes back on, balancing on one foot as she fixed the back of her shoe.

"I don't see the point," Natsume said, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall. "It'll just be another expense and Tsuna and I are usually together."

"Usually?" Hana raised a brow, giving Natsume an amused look, "Just think of it as having privacy? I'm sure your brother doesn't look through your messenger, but you two won't always be together." The dark haired girl reached for the door, opening it and letting herself out. "Well if not, it doesn't matter; I'll see you when you come back!"

Waving goodbye to her friend, Natsume watched her leave through the front gate and turn right, the dark haired girl's figure disappearing behind the brick wall that surrounded their home. She was thoughtful now, thinking that it would be sooner than later that Tsuna would be off on his own, fighting tooth and nail. She shook her head as if trying to shake away her thoughts, closing the front door behind her she turned to see Lambo and I-pin staring up at her.

" _Ane_!"

"Are you two done with mam's work?"

She received quick nods from the two, so she reached for their hands and walked them towards the table, where they each took the seat they had been a couple minutes ago. They opened up the journal's Nana had bought for them and pointed at the work that had been set for them.

"You two are doing so well," Natsume complemented as she traced over the syllables and some words they had done, she tapped on one of the hiragana on I-pin's paper, "A little more of a curve on these, hiragana isn't as strict in writing as kanji or hanzi."

There was a nod from the young assassin and Natsume noted that the two seemed to have similar problems, meaning that for once they weren't fighting over what they were working together.

"Alright you two, go wash up, I'm sure mam has some snacks for you."

As the two scurried over to the washroom, she turned to Fuuta who had placed his book on the table and was kicking out his feet all the while trying to seem as if he hadn't been staring her down.

"Fuuta?" she called his name, heading towards him, but not getting to close, "Could you make sure they clean themselves right, I'd rather not have another mess." _'Again.'_

As if reading her mind, Fuuta gave her a brilliant smile, gently grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"You're a great big sister, among the best in the rankings," he said softly, pulling away from her and heading to where the childish squeals were coming from. Natsume stared after him, eyes a little wide before a small smile settled on her features.

"I try."

"Try what?"

She jumped, a wheeze escaping her as she turned to stare down at the only child she'd label a demon. Reborn stood there, dressed down in a yukata with his hair all stuck up as it tended to do when he didn't wear his fedora.

"Your hair is a mess, as always," she said, pursing her lips and kneeling down. She reached to push down the gravity defying mane and she was surprised to find it so soft. "How the hell is your hair softer than mine?"

"Natsume, language! Especially in front of the children!" she heard her mother scold her from her bedroom, making the girl roll her eyes. She instead picked up Reborn, who willingly let himself be carried by the girl and was set in one of the chairs that had been reserved for either him, I-pin or Lambo.

"Maybe the next lesson will be how to speak without cursing," piped up Reborn, smiling cutely up at her and enjoying the way her eyebrow twitched at the word lesson.

"You're trying to kill us, you little demon spawn," she whispered quietly, holding his gaze as if trying to be the mature adult, which Reborn found amusing. "I will live to spite you until you're a graying old man."

"Why does it look like you're about to strangle Reborn?" came Tsuna's voice, causing Natsume to straighten up and give her brother a brilliant smile, something that would have been pretty on her face, yet she showed too many teeth and the way her eyes crinkled made it seem fake.

"Why would I ever do that to the sweetest child alive?" she all but dead panned, giving Reborn's hair a last run through with her hand only for it to poof back up. "I give up," she pulled away and headed towards the kitchen, where Nana had left the snacks out on the kitchen counter, "Come and help me set the table!"

"I thought mam wasn't making dinner," Tsuna said as he headed in after his sister, having left Yamamoto and Gokudera upstairs in search of any leftovers. As he grabbed a plate filled with cut up sandwiches and another with fruit, he thought that he might as well call the other two down.

Natsume grabbed the plastic plates and napkins, along with the plate filled with mini hamburgers, leaving the plate filled with desserts for last. The others had filled in, Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta sitting at the table, while Tsuna had gone back upstairs to get the two boys.

Nana came out of her room; hair wet and tousled a bright smile on her face as she realized that the two had already set everything out. Nana put both of her hands on her daughters shoulders and gave her a quick peck to the cheek, "My girl is so helpful!~"

The same happened to Tsuna once he came down again, who blushed and whined, though he secretly liked the attention. The rest of the night continued on calmly and ended just as soundly as it had started.

* * *

The three hour taxi ride to Shimizu Port was one of the longest ones that Natsume had been in. So when they stopped she was the first one out of the car, stretching and twisting her body in ways that ensured something cracked or pulled in just the right way that she could slump over and be happy.

Of course that wasn't going to happen just yet; instead she began getting their luggage from the trunk while Nana paid the fare. With her brother shouldering their duffle bags and she rolling along her mother's suitcase, the twins let Sawada Nana lead the way through the crowd, her steps containing a certain pep and bounce the two hadn't seen in a while.

"A cruise!" their mother gushed for the umpteenth time, hands wringing together as they waited in line to get their tickets checked, "A complete chance to relax, oh we have been so lucky lately!"

"The Gods must be smiling upon us," said Natsume as she pushed her bangs from out of her eye, her lips upturning slightly into a pout as she did so.

"I'm just so sad they only offered us three tickets, I would have loved to bring the others!"

Natsume only gave her mother a closed mouth smile, looking out of the corner of her eye she saw Tsuna mimic a similar look, though his was accompanied by a full body twitch. She tilted her head to the side, raising a brow at him to which he just waved at her sheepishly.

"I'm kind of glad it's just us," he whispered to her, when the attendant called them forward, taking away Nana's attention, "A break from the crazy."

"I completely understand that feeling," she paused, her face scrunching up in thought as a feeling pulled at her. She exhaled, focusing the hair up so that they blew her bangs out of her eye sight, "But I feel as if we won't be chilling out much."

"Chilling out?"

"There is _no chill_ , Tsuna," she deadpanned, following their mother up the ramp, leaving Tsuna to try to figure out what she meant.

Tsuna shook his head at his sister's words; it'd been months since she had said something weird and he put the excuse that meeting new people made her clam up and hold onto her weird phrases. How can something have ' _no chill'_?

* * *

 _xxi_

 _The days Jasmine appeared in my dreams, I would wake up with my thoughts in Spanish and my tongue in English. I had started to put my dreams of her and a previous life behind me and had actually forgotten about them until the trip to what ended up being Mafia Land._

 _Waking up and keeping quiet after a nightmare was hard to do when I shared a room with Nana and Bianchi – though I was happy to note that Bianchi had passed off my waking due to the rather 'explosive' atmosphere of the night life._

 _I sometimes envied my mother's ability to put things that should be questioned past her and yet I was happy I wasn't._

 _I would hate to remain oblivious in the face of the things to come._

 _Whatever those things were they could come and fight me._

* * *

While everyone had gone off to explore the cruise ship, Natsume had stayed behind, curled up in the mass of blankets that she had managed to horde. The small windows in the room had been opened, letting the sun through along with the scent of the ocean, allowing her to be beyond content.

"Get up, Natsume!"

Only for her to be kicked out of bed and lay tangled in the very sheets she had been snuggled in. A curse escaped her as she threw them off of her, standing up quickly to glare at the innocent looking child standing where she had been laying down.

"What the hell Reborn?" She put her face in her hands, a strangled sound escaping her before running her fingers through her hair. The girl tried her best to not lash out too badly at the tutor, but he had woken her up and she had a tendency to not be the best person when forced to wake up.

The baby hitman all but smiled at her and that caused chills to rundown her back. There was a dangerous glint to his eye, one that eerily reminded her of old man Kawahira right before he started her training for the day.

"Show me what you can do."

And that began a chase of hiding behind illusions to trying to trick Reborn into falling for one of her doubles, which would have worked well enough for her to escape the room and at least be amongst the others, minus the fact that the hitman seemed to have locked all the doors.

"Most people fight back when they are cornered," quipped the high pitched voice to which she turned around to. "I assumed you would like a game like this."

Natsume didn't respond, instead keeping a close eye on the infant and barely managed to duck underneath his foot. Placing her hands against the floor, she summoned the will to turn it into whatever could grab at him and keep him in place long enough for her to ditch the room.

The carpet area Reborn would have landed safely in turned into a shallow pit and spread out so that the baby hitman wouldn't have another place to land. From within the pit sprouted several types of vines that slithered out and tried to wrap themselves against the baby. All the hitman did was blink and let himself get caught, noting that the vines wrapped carefully around him.

They didn't snap at him, but their hold on him was slight and he was slightly surprised at the power Natsume had put into them when he tried to disrupt them with his flame. He looked towards said girl, whose mouth was drawn into a tight line and whose eyes looked at him, waiting for his next move.

Unlike Tsuna, Natsume didn't treat him like the child he looked like, and was perhaps another reason why she kept her distance from him often treating him as a child though she didn't believe that. She had reason to be wary of him and if that one moment in the bathroom hadn't influenced her in her interactions with him, Reborn would have been severely disappointed.

Then again it was no fun trying to poke fun at someone who would take him seriously.

The smirk on the baby hitman's face was insufferable and it just bothered her that she couldn't tell what he was up too.

"You have quite the imagination," his fedora shadowed his features and it caused another chill to run through Natsume. "I'm almost impressed."

She barely noticed it and she idly wondered if her eye sight was going bad, but quickly put that thought aside as she realized that _yes_ the tiny green thing scampering out of Reborn's suit jacket _was_ Leon. She didn't see exactly know what the chameleon turned to, but she felt a bullet wiz past her at the same time she heard the hissing of her illusions as they were dispersed.

The hitman was no longer in her little trap; instead he appeared behind her using Leon to hit the back of her knees to make her crumple to the floor. She was about to curse him, but Reborn had jumped on to her back, making her lay against the floor and keep her mouth shut as she heard the familiar click of a gun.

"Pass."

She dropped her face against the floor, a quiet groan of despair escaping her. Reborn hadn't let up on his gun, still pointing it at the back of head and she wondered if he shot her if she would come back as Tsuna often did.

Did she even have the will to survive his bullet?

Natsume felt the weight shift around on her back after a slight pause, then it was gone, shiny black shoes instead appearing in her line of sight. She peered up, looking up at the tutor.

"Was this all necessary?" she asked after a while, rolling onto her back instead of pushing herself up. The last couple minutes had been spent ducking and using her flames to try to restrain the demon baby, her legs felt like jelly having been put into a situation where she didn't want to reveal to much of what she was capable of, but enough where the tutor would be happy with her progress.

"I don't get much of a chance to test you since you seem to disappear."

Natsume hummed, not bothering to give him a proper response instead looking away from Reborn and checking out the slight mess they had made. A couple of things needed to be picked up and placed back to its proper place, though she was pretty sure that lamp was going to need replacing.

"You should be careful, Natsume."

"Of what?" she asked, turning her attention back to the babe, who had turned his back to her and headed for the door.

"Something's are too good to be true."

He left it at that, leaving the girl to ponder over his words, but she shrugged it off. Kawahira was a bit a weird and sometimes a little too knowing, the comments he would make at times when he had her using her flames were ones that went over her head. She had no reason as of yet to cut off a good teacher, when the one she had at home was barely doing anything for her and had more temperamental and often times abusive training exercises.

Seriously, who motivated their students by throwing cherry bombs at them?

* * *

Sawada Iemitsu took a long drag from the cigarette in his hand, steadily blowing out the smoke and letting it cloud up the computer screen before him. His other hand that wasn't occupied with the cancer stick scrambled a couple pieces of paper about not really looking at them as he mixed them up.

He wrinkled his nose as he pulled one paper up, eyes roving over the words before he put the paper down and shook his head, opting to take another drag of the cigarette.

Leaning back in his chair, Iemitsu closed his eyes wondering that if he just wished it enough that the mess before would disappear. The reports from Colonello stated exactly what had happened during the Calcassa family's invasion of Mafia Land; while he was glad the people were safe, he was rather peeved that it had happened while his family had been on the island.

A sigh escaped him as he finally had enough of the smoke filling the room and put out the cancer stick, wondering if maybe now he could return to work.

He cast a slight glare at the other reports on his desk that probably wouldn't be looked at any time soon.

The papers were filled with reports of his family, of his children and the slow budding chaos that was filling their lives. It was a little salt to the wound that his children were growing under another man's guidance, it cut deeper to know that it was also the happiest his wife had been in months.

He picked up one of the pictures that had been sent his way, perhaps by Nono or Reborn, it didn't matter, what did was that he had a picture of his family – one where Natsume wasn't just staring straight at the camera, where Tsuna looked just as happy if not a little too giddy, and where Nana had her arms around the two, her head leaning against their daughters.

The smirk on his daughter's face irked him slightly, seeing as she was looking less like him and more like Tomiko-obaasan by the way one of her eyebrows was raised and her hazel eyes glinted with accomplished mischief.

The latest report from Reborn about the mini-spar he had with his eldest spoke more of where her interests lay. That perhaps there was someone else teaching her, for no matter how talented and creative she may be, she shouldn't have half of the ability to pull off what she did.

The other headache was his youngest, who was slowly coming out of the shell he had made for himself. Tsunayoshi was truly his son if only by his way of clumsiness that he would hopefully grow out of ( _unlike him_ ) and how unwilling he was to be dragged down.

There was another thought, a brief one that angered him and he belatedly realized he was reaching for another cigarette. He set the picture down, not wanting to crumple it in his grip, but at the same not wanting it to exist. _He s_ hould be in it with them; _he_ should be at home teaching his children how to grow up and live life.

But no, just like his own childhood, he had been handed off to someone else – even if that someone had been his grandmother. If it hadn't been for the sudden loss of his mother and later on his grandmother, Iemitsu would have never found himself working for CEDEF or Vongola. The fair haired man held back a sneer as he thought about the woman that had preferred to continue working than to stay with her only child.

Saigo had been remarkable for a woman in her time or that was at least what he had been told. The life of an assassin was of course never guaranteed, by his sixth birthday his mother had been felled during one of her contracts. Tomiko-obaasan had watched him since then, up until his twelfth birthday when she had taken ill and never got better.

Vongola had taken him in, carefully raising him no matter how much he denied it, all because he didn't want to end up like Saigo. In the end, he realized he couldn't be anything else, especially not when a game gone wrong should have ended his life – instead it had awakened something within him. Later on he came to understand why his mother never left the underworld, but he still held a grudge against her.

Iemitsu sighed, just like the very same grudge his Tsunayoshi was harboring against him. The fair haired man shook his head, casting the picture on his desk and giving it a sad smile,

"It seems I won't ever win."

* * *

Natsume waved around the stick of burning incense, the flame that had been left to burn going out and leaving behind a smoking red tip. She sniffed, taking in a bit of the wafting fumes and wrinkled her nose not liking the smell of the stick that Kawahira had handed her.

The white haired man merely set his own burning stick into one of the holders he had set out and motioned for her to do the same. The lights were off, the only source being the candles her teacher had spread about the room casting an eerie glow against the man's features.

"Now I want you to relax," he spoke, his voice low and without any infliction, "Close your eyes if you must and just let yourself melt away….."

She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, continuing to do so for several minutes. No longer did the smell of the incense bother her, but it soothed her nerves and she could feel the tension in her shoulders ease away.

"I want you to focus inward and feel how your blood pulses, how your heart beats, and how your power thrums within you," Kawahira said after a while, his voice lower than before and pitching oddly before rising back up to his soft tenor. "Gently coax your power and let it spread from you and slowly devour everything in its presence."

The way Natsume had come to understand her misty influence was that of the magical sort. Having read fantasy books of witches and wizards and seen the games her brother played gave her an idea on how to toy with her own power. Kawahira had been delighted to hear of a different way other than ' _surprise'_ and _'overwhelm them before they realize it'._

Harry Potter had as much of an influence on how to manipulate and want her power to work as much as any other idea of what 'magic' could be. Though she tended to favor a staff in her recent rounds of combat with Kawahira than just her hands and it was very exciting to see what once existed in her imaginations come to life.

"Focus!" the flick to her forehead jostled her slightly as she wasn't expecting it, but she quickly righted herself not wanting to go for the more physical punishments her teacher could dole out.

Returning to her focusing point, Natsume breathed in, clearing her mind and letting everything go to find her center again. With her eyes closed, she didn't notice Kawahira smirking, eyeing the small chain that had appeared and wrapped itself around his student's forehead. In the middle of the dulled orange chain, was a flickering light of indigo, one that quickly rounded out as Natsume's thoughts settled.

Sepira would have been happy to see him take on a human apprentice and perhaps he did this more for her than him, because all he really was was curious. She soaked up his teachings and applied it so easily it made it less tiring to deal with her, unlike the other humans he had interacted with.

Kawahira closed his eye, letting his students extending shadow brush over and around him. Peeking through one eye, he eyed her progress and was just absolutely fascinated at what he saw – reflections of various memories played out before him, both of people of this life and a different life she preferred to forget (and one he actively helped her soothe away, for no creature should remember what they did in a life before).

"Enough," he called, waving his hand to disburse the ongoing play of memories, his eye lingering over a certain one that detailed a familiar face. "That is all for today, Natsume-chan."

The girl blinked sleepily at him and gave a slight nod of her head in understanding. When she left the room to head towards the restroom, Kawahira couldn't help but grin, something a little more vicious than the seemingly helpless store owner act pushing through.

Those touched by death were curious indeed.

* * *

 _xxii_

 _I was originally going to be a part of the Tanabata Festival that Reborn was hosting Vongola style, but at the last minute I opted out seeing as I didn't really have much to show case._

 _It was a hectic showing to say the least, but it was enjoyed by everyone no matter how far out some of the acts ended up being. At the end, Tsuna had come up to be, almost sighing against me in relief and all I did was ruffle his hair as I tended to do with Lambo._

 _I had a feeling that the end of our luck was at its end, or maybe that was me just being weird. All in all this Tanabata I had a simple wish and I didn't want it to get ruined by pineapples._

* * *

She had gone to a changing room a little after Kyoko and Haru had returned, it had been less than ten minutes that she was gone. Her completely unamused look seemed to make Gokudera giddy as he got out of the older teenagers face and stood beside Tsuna.

Hazel eyes narrowed at the smirks that spread over the older boys faces, safe to say Natsume hadn't noticed the miffed look on Kyoko's face or felt Tsuna's panic. Taking that all in, she gave them a rather disarming smile, head tilting to the side in a cutesy manner as her arms crossed themselves over her front in a shielding manner.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, making direct eye contact with each one of the lifeguards who all gave her rather toothy smiles. It was like that situation with the senpai's in Tsuna's homeroom again and it slightly irked her.

"Nothing wrong here, hot stuff," the leader of the group said, making a move to put his arm around her. He moved slow enough that she caught his wrist and twisted it, making the older teen yelp and try to pull his arm away from her.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Natsume asked through clenched teeth in annoyance for not only obviously lying, but calling her an unwanted name. She let go of the teen's wrist, her face clearing up and throwing him an unamused glare, "Ryohei-senpai, your choice in friends is terrible," she commented turning to the white haired boxer.

"Eh? You think so Sawada?" piped the boxer a little incredulous, looking over his old boxing mates. "I don't see it!"

Before Natsume could say anything, Reborn who had been dressed up as Master Paopao, popped up. By the end of what Reborn had proposed, only they stood back while the others stood closer to shore to see what would come of the contest.

Sitting herself down, Natsume crossed her arms over the tops of her knees and laid her chin on top of them.

"You just like making things difficult don't you?" she asked the pint sized hitman who began to walk away from her. The ridiculously sweet smile he gave her got him a rather unimpressed look.

It was the sound of a firearm going off that caused her to wince, her fists clenching unconsciously, that she shook her head as she buried her face into her hands.

Yep, Reborn and Tsuna's relationship was probably never going to change.

* * *

Natsume had been wondering the summer festival and had found a rather nice spot to claim near the temple. The sun had begun to set and although the various sounds of fighting called her attention, she was rather happy where she was.

Peace and quiet was nice, especially after a slightly chaotic day that had easily been settled by asking Kyoko a favor. Maybe dumping the kids on the kind hearted girl wasn't a good idea, but they liked her well enough to listen to the auburn haired girl.

She sighed in relief, leaning back against the wooden beam, idly fixing the sleeves of her yukata. Her mother had insisted and exclaimed that if she kept growing as she was, Natsume was never going to get the chance to wear her various robes.

So here she was dressed in a navy blue summer yukata, with pretty red roses sewn in along the bottom. Overall it was one of the simpler and less noticeable yukata. Her hair was loose; her bangs held back to the right by a flower clip her mother had put in her hair.

Her moment of thought was disrupted by a scoff and the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She looked and was only mildly irritated that she had been found.

At least it was only Hibari.

"Yo, Hibari-san" she greeted, having become used to the prefect's random appearances after the past year. He nodded at her, a highly amused smirk on his lips as he stopped before her, his head tilting to the side as he looked over her. She raised a brow at him as she gestured for him to take a seat beside her, there was enough room on the bench for him and was oddly surprised that he took her offer.

The sound of fireworks came over the silence that was usually between the two, lighting up the sky and distracting Natsume from the boy beside her, who was rather intently staring at her than at the light show above.

Twins they may be, Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sawada Natsume were such an anomaly to him. Where the eldest could be brash and physical to those who threatened her brother, the younger was more inclined to keep quiet and had a tendency to run away.

Which was a thing until that interesting toddler came into the picture.

It piqued Hibari's interest to see the dynamics between the group that had started floating around Sawada Tsunayoshi, not something he would ever willingly join, but something to keep an eye out for. Not as obvious as the younger Sawada, he could tell the eldest herself was up to something that made him just _want t_ o fight her.

It was usually the look in her eye or the way that she spoke to him that put him off from picking a fight with her. A smirk curled its way onto Hibari's face as he looked away from the girl and up at the explosive colors and noises.

One day he would fight her, just as he had fought her brother.

Though many people didn't believe it, Hibari _did_ have patience. He could definitely wait.

* * *

"Hello?"

" _Nana? Honey is that you?"_

"Pap! Mam's not home, she went grocery shopping."

" _Natsume, sweetheart! You sound just like your mother! How's my big girl?"_

A smile found its way on Natsume's face as she spoke with her father, even if he made her angry. She sat herself up on the counter, legs kicking a bit as she spoke with Iemitsu. She could hear the worry in her father's voice ease away as he apologized, took in the excuse that work had kept him more than usual this past year. In another time she didn't know such an honest and loving person as Iemitsu. Even if he was a bit distant from his family, he didn't expect to be able to buy them out with gifts and excuses. Yes in the past year his calls had been few, but he tried didn't he?

How long had he kept them safe until Reborn's fateful arrival?

" _How's Emi-chan doing? She must be big by now."_

"She's so fluffy and she's gotten a little fat from her surgery, but she's been really well, I never thanked you for her did I?"

There was a laugh on the other line, one that warmed her.

A shout from the other end killed the mood and Natsume felt her heart beat speed up. There was whispering she couldn't understand, a muttered ' _merda_ ' from her father.

" _Hey honey, something came up, I'll try to call soon okay? Give your mother and brother my love, okay?"_

"Yes papa."

' _Click.'_

Natsume sighed as she put the phone back, a slight lump forming in her throat. All she wanted was for everyone to be happy, its why she strove so hard to protect Tsuna, to make Nana smile, even if her attitude towards outsiders wasn't the best, she tried for her family.

Because in the end its all she really had.

* * *

"You know I never really understood why exactly Medici used crystals to ease herself into her flame, she ends up not using them as much in her later explanations for what she does," spoke Natsume aloud as she slowly went through a mixture of short and long forms

She received a hum of thought from Kawahira, who only swatted at her form with a fan. She breathed, letting her shoulders relax as they had tensed up, she realized she had begun to lock her knees and eased the tension there as well before flowing into the next move.

"As we are what we are, there is no need for continuous use of foci for us," Kawahira answered after making sure her stances were correct. In his other hand he held a light metal staff that he tossed to his student as she as swiped out with her right hand open and her left hand coming up underneath it.

Natsume's body was coming up, her right hand coming down from her left shoulder as her left hand pushed out, arcing out a little bit to catch the object Kawahira had tossed her. Mindful of the weight, she grasped towards the top of the staff with her right hand and brought the butt end of the staff forward as she pulled the top of it towards her.

"Think fire."

Breathing in as she spun away and a simple gesture of one of the blunt ends, she thought of fire consuming the mannequin that Kawahira had conjured up. A weak ball of fire emitted, barely setting anything to flame before it burned itself out.

"Pause and catch your breath, then go through that move again."

She ended in a more neutral stance and did as she was instructed. Going through the move a second time brought her better results, though perhaps not as much as she had wanted.

"Try using water instead of fire."

The same results happened, though a bit stronger than the fire had been.

"Lightening."

A third try on that ended up with much better results.

"Well wasn't that shocking?" grinned Kawahira as he looked over the mess his student had made. He very easily ignored the girls glare at his pun and just waved at her over his shoulder. There was a scoff and the sound of her footsteps leading her away from the room.

He was glad to know that the forms he had been instructing her in were much more helpful than the rigid style he had first started Natsume in. The flow of her flames was much better and there was very little difference how she moved either with or without a staff. Though he was a bit down that she still hadn't gotten the understanding of tossing in certain attacks as part of her style, he was more than happy to let it slide due to her ability to manipulate the area around her and with enough focus the people themselves.

Still it wasn't good enough, as least not for someone who would one day claim to be his student.

No, no, she had to be _much_ , much better than that.

Though in the year he had had her, she hadn't done _too_ bad.

"I'm leaving," he heard her utter as she collected her things and stood at the entrance between his shop and his home, "I can't believe this went on so late."

The glare that appeared on his glasses didn't let Natsume see her teacher's eyes, though by the line his mouth became as he looked at one of the clocks in his living room, he wasn't too happy.

"Come here," he gestured for her to approach him, which she did. He patted the girl's head, ruffling up her hair knowing how it bothered her. "Walk home safe, okay? By the shadows if you must."

"Isn't that usually where all the creeps are?" she asked, not noticing the thin layer of Mist Flames he had placed on her.

"Usually, but if you're there they won't really see you." With a sincere smile, he led her out, not giving the girl a chance to come up a retort. He waved her away as she all but pouted at him for hinting that she was a creep.

The breeze that blew by and the darkening skies overhead seemed to indicate rain, looking up at the sky and catching sight of the moon, Kawahira shook his head.

"So dramatic," he muttered as he went back inside his shop, finally flipping the open sign closed and turning off all the nights.

He was happy to know his little mist wasn't as dramatic as the one to come.

Really who picked to start things during the first quarter moon, wouldn't the new moon have sufficed?

* * *

Natsume glared up at the boy in front of her, she really couldn't believe what he had asked her.

"And why are you asking me of all people?"

The smile – the literal smile, if it could be called that – that curled around the older teens face was nothing but vicious and bloodthirsty.

"Just want to know who the boss is here little lady."

She gave him an unimpressed look, her mouth turning down as she jutted her chin out.

"I'm not interested in talking with you," she said, but not turning her back on them. "So leave me alone."

There was a chuckle from the blond before her.

"Well I hate to do this the hard way," he was moving his hands to his pockets, but his hands froze midway there. By the slow blink he did and the slight furrowing of his brow, he didn't understand what was happening and tried to make his arms move like he wanted them too.

" _Look up_ ," Natsume spoke, eyes mere slits as she gave him a dirty look. The face of the boy slackened, previous emotions wiping away as if he was in a trance, _"You found nothing, now leave and forget this happened."_

There was a robotic nod from the boy as he turned away and walked away from her, his feet dragging him away to wherever he was supposed to go next. Once he was out of her sight, Natsume booked it down the street and towards Nami-chuu where she knew she'd at least be safe.

As she sat herself before her shoe looker, she realized her hands were shaking terribly. Bringing them to her chest, Natsume leaned forward and just tried to breath. She needed to find someone, even if it was one of the delinquents from the committee and let them know what had just happened.

They usually were good on picking up those harassing Namimori citizens weren't they?

Slipping into her school shoes, Natsume made her way through the first and up to the second level as she went out to search for one of Hibari's minions. From all the talk that she had passed by, hers wasn't the first incident to happen, but she was one of the very few to walk away uninjured.

Instead of heading to the reception room, she changed routes towards her classroom and stopped in front Tsuna's to check if he was there.

Her heart seemed to have dropped when she noticed that he wasn't there.

"Hey!" the voice jolted her and she turned, a little wide eyed in surprise.

"Yamamoto!" a little relieved to see the baseball player; she tugged him out of the door way and to the side, "Have you seen Tsuna?"

The dark haired teen frowned, hand coming up to scratch the back of his head, "I usually meet up with him in the mornings, I haven't really seen him actually." He must have noticed the look of panic on her face, "What's wrong? We can look for him, I'm sure he's fine," he tried to assure, but realized that wasn't going to do anything until the girl saw her brother.

"Rumor is that Hibari isn't even here," he heard her mutter as the school bell rang, clutching at her bag tighter as she watched the mad scramble of the few stragglers to make it to class. "Yamamoto, I got stopped by some weird kid on the way here as _king_ for Tsuna."

"I'm going back home," she said, her features set in a frown and he had a feeling she wasn't really going home. Stuck between going to class or going after his best friend's sister, Yamamoto shook his head and took after the girl, quickly catching up to her.

The questioning look she gave him was shrugged off by one of his cheesy smiles.

"I can't let you go on your own with what you told me happened to you."

Really what kind of friend would he be if he couldn't watch out for Natsume? Sure he knew she could probably handle herself, but with the way things have been going on, these guys were no school bullies. It really was better to stick together and find out why Tsuna hadn't shown up, or even Gokudera for that matter.

Yamamoto frowned in thought, what was _really_ going on in Namimori anyway?

* * *

 **AN:** SWEET. We're moving forward. A big thank you for Beyonce's Blue and Haunted songs for pushing me through this.

Lets see how everything else goes. A big thanks to you reviewers who show the love, to you who favorite/alert, it makes me really happy that you guys enjoy this enough to do that and want to read up on it!

Ah, I was going to say something I don't know about what, if you all have any questions don't be afraid to ask or comment, whatever you please. Any grammar, mistakes, odd sounding phrases let me know, I kind of do a read over, but then I get distracted and it never gets done.

Until next time

 _Sorugao_


	9. VII

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

* * *

They were stopped by the kid halfway out of school making some remark about fighting going on down by the plaza. The two teens began to go in that direction, but one of them was called back.

"Natsume stay."

Yamamoto stopped as the girl froze mid step, her chin coming down towards her chest, her bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Yamamoto go on, I'm sure Tsuna would be glad to see you."

Said boy frowned, confusion clouding his features as he was about to protest. A hand came up to pat his elbow, breaking his train of thought as he really looked at the girl beside him. Her face was devoid of emotion, but the way her nose wrinkled gave away her feelings.

"I'll see you," she said, her words more of a sigh than anything else as she turned to look at the kid. She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but it failed as it looked more as if she smelled something bad. "Go Yamamoto."

The baseball player nodded and he took off towards the gates making a left as he exited the school grounds. Whatever was going on, he hoped nothing too bad happened. It was weird to him how serious the kid was right now and how tense Natsume was, he had a feeling things wouldn't be going well.

Once the other teen was out of sight, Reborn beckoned for Natsume to follow him. From the feel of her, Natsume wasn't panicking, which was good, but she also wasn't as settled as she usually was. Something must have happened to the girl to put her on edge. The hitman stopped, turning around to stare at the teenager before him. Her head was tilted to the side as she eyed their surroundings, her attention quickly focusing back on him when he cleared his throat.

"I want you to go to Kokuyo."

She raised a brow, her lips parting slightly, her teeth grinding at what he asking of her. He gleamed the unasked question from her mind and instead of answering he handed her a small earpiece. Ever so understanding, the girl knelt down, taking the ear piece from him, she stayed in her position, turning the piece around in her fingers.

"Alone?" her voice was quiet, almost contemplative, but her eyes gave her away. The normally hazel hues were violet now and it showed how nervous she was about her sudden quest.

The baby hitman nodded, "Just see what's happening, you can hide yourself right?" at the hesitant nod he continued, "The Ninth wants Tsuna to do this on his own," Reborn exclaimed, his own feelings on that showing only a little by the way his face became a little pinched, "All that has been happening lately is due to the escapees from the Mafia Prison, I just need to know for sure what they are after."

"You really think I'm capable?"

Reborn gave her a rather bleak smile, "You're much better at accessing your flames than your brother, don't think I don't know what happens in your room."

Judging by the way the girl's right eyebrow twitched, she had probably thought she had been secretive about it. She had been, compared to the people that they were around constantly, not even Bianchi caught on to the girl's subtle manipulations. Reborn was just on completely different level.

"If anything happens, just call through, we'll be there."

* * *

The grounds of Kokuyo Land were desolate and completely unlivable, a perfect place to hide seeing as the place looked like it would finish falling apart on its own at any minute. She had managed to slip in through the front gates, had fooled the stinky mutts that had appeared and had passed by the blond boy from earlier.

She had stowed away her bag and school sweater back near the entrance, hiding it amongst the overgrown bushes and at the moment she wished she had at least the comforting weight of it over her shoulder. Natsume walked the grounds with care, hands clenching tightly around the necklace that she usually hung around her neck. The chain wrapped around her hand and in her fist she held a blue stone, her thumb idly rubbing against it the further she walked in.

' _He called me a shadow once,'_ Natsume thought as she walked along a path that seemed to have had some recent use. Small, round yellow birds chirped above her, not taking notice of her as they flew in a group towards the entrance of Kokuyo. _'Am I just an extension of my brother then?'_

She had asked that question once to Kawahira, who had chuckled at her question. Slipping in by one of the trees, she waited with bated breath when a man in a bucket hat walked past her, one of the yellow birds on his shoulder. Without a thought she reached out with her flame, pooling it around the man's feet and willed for it to break the floor.

The sound of breaking glass, followed by a surprised scream is what Natsume received. She waited a bit after that, long enough that the yellow bird that had been with the man flew out of the broken floor, chirping relentlessly

' _Silly girl, you're marked for an assassin.'_

She pushed aside the sickness that wanted to come up, ignored how her hands shook and tried her best to keep her pace steady as she followed the bird back to a tall, crumbling building. Taking a deep breath, Natsume pulled tighter on the flame that she had layered herself with before entering the building. The staircase was a no go, so she went through one of the side rooms, going through one of the adjoining rooms she found a ladder that lead upstairs. Climbing it, she pulled herself up, sitting on the ground as she looked around the trashed room.

 _Midori Tanabiku_ ~

The sound came from the opposite side of where she sat and the girl wanted to let out a hysterical laugh. Swallowing it down instead, she picked herself up and headed towards the door. Wiggling the handle did nothing; neither did throwing her body weight against it. Curling her hand around the stone, Natsume released the flame that surrounded her and instead focused it to her fist. Taking a deep breath, she opened up her hand and placed it once again on the handle, pulling it down and flaring a crackle of bright violet flame through the key hole. There was a hissing sound as the internal workings of the handle melted down, spreading through the door and eating away at the wood.

Her hand was still ignited and it cast an eerie glow in the dark room when the door opened up slowly.

 _Midori Tanabiku~_

A yellow bird flew up to her, staying around her eye level before zipping back into the room. A soft hum came from whoever was in there and the girl readied herself, fingers once against clamping around the stone.

"Sawada."

"Hibari-san." She perked up at the familiar voice and she could feel some tension easing off from her, when the prefect came into better lighting, Natsume could feel the tension return to her shoulders. The dark haired boy wasn't in the best of shape, nor should he be moving at all with the way he had his arm wrapping around the left side of his rib cage. "Stupid question, are you well?"

The boy didn't even dignify that with a response, instead stalking forward and using his tonfa to block an incoming - yo-yo? _Who the hell fightst with a yo-yo?_

"Seems we have some rats around here," came the quiet voice of the beanie wearing boy, pulling back on his toys and catching it in his hand. "I'll make sure to clean up well after this." A different yellow bird chirped around the boy's head, before it flew out of the room.

Now standing behind Hibari, Natsume eyed the situation she was in. With a shaky breath in, she released it slowly, her left hand coming up to the ear piece she had placed in her ear,

" _One man down, Hibari is found, in confrontation with another."_

Was all she said, before bringing up her right hand a small shield taking form to block the pins that were shot at them. Sliding her right foot back, Natsume flung back the pins with a bit of intent, something the boy hadn't been expecting and had to roll out of the way.

"You're Sawada Tsunayoshi's sister?" the boy asked as he righted himself, pushing up on his glasses. The glare on the lenses made it difficult to tell who he was looking at, "I just had a run in with him earlier, he doesn't seem like much, and you should be about the same."

Natsume made a noise at the back of her throat as Hibari swatted away another attempt and she formed a clear barrier between the two. The prefect looked out of the corner of his eye, metaphorical hackles raising as the hairs on his arms stood on end at the familiar display of abilities. The too sweet smile on the girls face wasn't uncommon; it was the intent in her eyes.

"I hope you didn't hurt him," she spoke quietly, her voice a higher pitch than usual. The thing that had surrounded them disappeared, drawing back into her right hand where it elongated and took the form of a staff. "I don't appreciate people hurting my brother." The eye smiles she gave, made the other boy pause and Hibari think him an idiot.

From the head of the staff lay a blue stone, one that glowed as the girl whirled it around, her left hand ending up near the middle and her right more towards the top.

"Tell me, have you ever tried to outrun a lightning?"

This time Hibari scoffed alongside the boy who prepared to throw twice the amount of pins at them than before. There was the sound of metal hitting the ground and _something_ blew out hard enough to disrupt both the course of the pins and knock the boy back.

"Very rude," Natsume said, ignoring the look she received from the prefect, "Let's see you run from _this."_ She raised the staff above the ground, tracing circles in the air, and then brought it down in the straight line in Chikusa's direction. Lightning like flames coming alive as they followed the pattern she traced.

Chikusa in that very moment regretted not staying in bed.

She cut it off as soon as she heard the boy screech in pain, knowing he would be twitching from the idea of how much he had been shocked. Leaning against the staff, Natsume tilted her head to the side as she took in what had just happened.

"So Hibari-san," she said airily, turning her attention to the prefect, "Where to now?"

Hibari was rarely surprised, judging by his raised brows and the curious look he cast her, Natsume could say he was out of his element. She gave him a tight smile, one hand coming up to her hip, really who thought the ever stoic third year could be -

"I want to fight you, Sawada," was all the prefect said as he walked away, passing Chikusa's form and heading up towards the staircase that led up to the third level.

Really Hibari had no idea what it was with the Sawada twins, but something about them just _asked_ for him to fight them. To test them. To see if they crumbled like everyone else or if they stood above and _beat_ him down. The boy shivered at the thought, soon he would be able to know, but right now he had Mukuro to deal with.

* * *

" _Another down, Reborn_ ," came Natsume's voice over his ear piece, making Reborn feel a little more at ease. Really he had told her to _look_ not get herself into a fight. They had just finished with the blond boy; Yamamoto had let out a cry afterwards as he floundered around in the dark, only to trip over something.

That something turned out to be the body of an old man that happened to match one of the pictures he had tucked away into his jacket. Birds had been someone to watch out for, a man who enjoyed to put his victims into corners and got off on making said victims decide to do self bodily harm in order to protect whatever he was threatening.

His death had been casual, having fallen through what probably was one of the weaker points of the glass ceiling they walked over.

Well that was no skin off of his nose.

Rokudo Mukuro on the other hand was, seeing as it was his _student_ who would be handling this ridiculous situation and he had no right to interfere. Leon had seen to conform to what was happening, his animal companion emitted a warm hum of power. Reborn more than anything wished for this situation to be over and to see what Leon gifted Tsuna.

At least one good thing came out of this mess.

* * *

"Stay out of this," hissed Hibari as Natsume tried to help him.

The prefect was once again on his hands and knees, weak against the Sakura blossoms above him. The girl instead of moving away came close enough grab his upper arm and painfully dug her nails into his skin. One thing he knew that was coming out of this situation was that Sawada Natsume was going to suffer a beating at his hands.

"Disbelief is the worst thing for an illusionist," she murmured, keeping her eyes on the smiling form of Mukuro. "You have to match their power to have your reality back."

The prefect scoffed as he struggled to both sit up and swat at the girl's hand. Sweat trickled into his eye, his other hand came up to wipe with the back of it, but that didn't work as he wanted too. The tonfa that he had clutched tightly fell out as he fell forward, body shaking terribly as the blossoms above and previous injuries became too much.

He felt fingers rubbing gingerly against his temple, muttered words that he could make no sense of. Hibari finally passed out underneath the strain of his body and the soothing feeling that filled him. Natsume didn't bat an eye as he finally slumped over and had focused her full attention on the now smirking boy.

"Kufufu~ Aren't you interesting?"

The girl didn't acknowledge him; instead she straightened up, the staff in her hand shrinking to the size of a wand. His curiosity was about the way she used her power, so he barely had time to realize what she was doing. There was a sizzle, followed by a crack and Mukuro had brought his own weapon up just in time to block the violet lightning that was sent his way.

"Fighting fire with fire," he spoke merrily, as he sent the attack to the side, not realizing he had redirected it a bit too close to the still form of Fuuta. "This should be fun~"

An image of the girl appeared both beside Hibari and Fuuta and pulled them away to one of the far corners of the room. The figures merged together, becoming one and standing in front of the unconscious figures.

A cruel smirk twisted Mukuros's face, his red eye changing to the kanji 3. He waved his arms open and a horde of snakes appeared, all hissing and biting at the girl, who didn't seem too impressed with his theatrics. Perhaps she thought they weren't real? Mukuro chuckled and without any word the serpents attacked as one. Some wrapped around the girl, others bit into her skin and Mukuro felt a flash of disappointment. He had jumped the gun and now he lost what could have been someone who could keep him entertained.

With a shrug and another wave of his hand, the snakes disappeared and he retreated back to the lumpy couch. Tsunayoshi should be here any second now; he could hear the distant sounds of fighting and Mukuro couldn't help but chuckle once more.

"A little unobservant aren't you?" a hand clamped down over his right eye and he could feel his powers dampened. The blue haired teen tried to reach up to grab the girl and bring her forward, but found himself unable to move. "You rely on this eye a little too much, don't you _Mukuro-kun_?"

"You said so yourself didn't you _Natsume-chan?_ " he spat out her name as she had done his, "Disbelief is the worst for an illusionist?"

Something between them broke and he could feel the power surge back through his body, blinking the kanji in his eye changed as he materialized the tip of his trident in his hand and thrust it back in an attempt to stab the girl, only to hit nothing but air.

"Very true," the voice came from in front of him. The girl smiled, her eyes completely shut as she gave him one of the fakest smiles he had ever seen, "But you seem to mistake me for an illusionist."

Something cold seemed to burst forth and reach at him, something he never wanted to feel for as long as he could. Mukuro shouted in rage as he shot up from the couch and toward the girl, his knife cutting her cheek as she barely avoided the strike. That insufferable smile was still there when she deigned to look him in the eye and Mukuro felt out of his league. He drew a blank as he locked eyes with her, giving Natsume the chance to slip into his thoughts.

"I am nothing but a shadow," she murmured, the words seeming to echo as she reached out to him, her hand coming up to cup his face, "One that death has touched and has tainted, you know that feeling don't you Mukuro-kun?"

The boy looked at her through glassy eyes and Natsume swallowed, her hands shaking as she pulled away from him. What she wanted had ingrained itself and wouldn't break until she wanted it too. Cursing the stone she had used underneath her breath, the sandy haired girl tried to back away, to get herself out of the way but the memories that came forth, of a different scene but a similar boy came forth.

Everything became blurry after that, her head began to pound and her world felt as if it was flipped. Her last words were but a whisper that brought life back to Mukuro's dimmed eyes and had him giving her a curious look.

" _Don't remember this…"_

"Natsume!"

Mukuro smiled at the one he had been waiting for.

Finally things got interesting.

* * *

Tsuna opened the door just in time to watch his sister collapse. His breath caught, blood pounding loudly in his ears as he took in the smiling face of the boy, who crouched down and callously touched his sister, tilting her head back and frowning at her unconscious form.

"She is interesting, young Vongola, but not what I wanted in the end," sighed the boy as he pulled away, straightening up and giving Tsuna his attention. That insufferable smile was on his face again, but Tsuna could tell that he wasn't feeling it.

"Tsuna this isn't the time to get distracted," Reborn chastised from his shoulder, pulling on a lock of the brunette's hair to get his attention. The baby hitman jumped down from the teen's shoulder, his hands pulling out a glowing Leon from the inside of his suit jacket. The way his facial features twisted was minute and was missed by the two teens who were having a stare down, the pulse that came from Leon came out stronger as the usually amicable Tsuna became angry.

"I don't care what it is you want," Tsuna bit out, whole heartedly glaring and hating the boy before him. Chocolate brown eyes appeared golden, eyes narrowing as the other didn't seem to really care about his declaration, "Whatever it is, you won't get it, _because I will take you down!_ "

Mukuro chuckled, red eye changing to the kanji for six, a violet aura surrounding it.

"Then we'll just have to see who falls first won't we Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Reborn noted the two bodies that moved in the corner, but his attention was on the rising figure of Natsume, whose usually vibrant hazel eyes were dull and lifeless. She, along with the others that straightened up, moved like dolls without strings.

"Tenth!" echoed up the hall, followed by an explosion.

The smirk never faltered from Mukuro's face as he tilted his head to the side curiously, "It won't matter what you do Tsunayoshi-kun, the numbers are on my side."

Reborn scoffed at the arrogance of the boy. Tucking Leon underneath his left underarm, he pulled out his second favored pistol out.

"Get ready for anything Tsuna."

The boy barely nodded before he had to duck underneath a tonfa, a surprised sound escaping him as the body of the prefect nearly collapsed on top of him. He caught the black haired teen, setting him down before he had to deflect an incoming attack from Fuuta. Tsuna ground his teeth as he took in the nine year olds blank features, trying his best not to hurt the boy as he continued to duck away from the weapon in his hand. Gokudera burst in at that moment, panting as he took in what was happening.

"Tenth watch out!"

The silver haired teen flung out a handful of dynamite towards the approaching figure of Natsume, who was promptly engulfed in the smoke that followed the explosion. The teen gave a sigh a relief when the smoke cleared and the girl stood unharmed, merely looking at him with disinterest.

The way she eyed him gave him chills and Gokudera prepped another handful of dynamite. The pain he felt could wait, right now the tenth needed him.

Natsume's hand reached out towards him, the flash of recognition in her eyes gave the proclaimed right hand man hope. There was a small cry from where Tsuna was, drawing the silver haired boy's attention for a second and when he turned to look the elder Sawada was in his face with her arm pulled back ready to punch him.

He'd never _ever_ admit it to anyone, but Gokudera was intimidated by Tsuna's sister. Holding up his arms to block the incoming attack, Gokudera grunted under the force she threw her punch. It was in her eyes the first time they met and he would never have her look at him like that again. Just the realization that he may or may not have hurt Tsuna and she seemed to have shifted from worried sister to a cold and furious one.

Really it was a miracle Yamamoto hadn't had worse.

He heard the stories from the girls that tried to get his attention, when they tried to tell him being around the twins was the worst social suicide he could do.

Fatherless, weak, _barely_ average, that's what they were called.

' _No good comes from people like that, one fights anyone, and the other cowers. Seriously there's no point in being friends with them, they might as well just give up now instead of taking up space.'_

He blocked the knee strike aimed at his stomach, the pain from the morning fight flaring as his muscles protested the constant movement. Gokudera grit his teeth, eyes narrowing in concentration as he swatted aside a palm strike. Sweat trickled down the girls forehead, stoic face showing strain around her eyes as they squinted and in the way she panted for breath.

"Mukuro!"

Tsuna's voice shouted as a bright light shown, not even a second later, Gokudera could feel Tsuna's will emerge and that gave him hope for the situation, "Go Tenth!"

There was a clanging sound and Natsume's body stepped back, about to go in the direction of the fight, but Gokudera moved, wrapping his arm around the shorter girl's neck, the other around her waist to hold her back.

"I hate to do this," he ground out, "But the tenth can't have you against him, not like this."

He gave a very shoddy chop to the back of her neck – Shamal had shown him a few times how to knock out someone without harming them too badly – and her struggles ceased as she went limp.

"Over here Gokudera," called Reborn and the boy listened as he half dragged, half carried Natsume. The hitman eyed the three, taking in the injuries of all. Hibari was the worst off, Fuuta looked as if he hadn't been touched and Natsume only looked a little roughed up. "Just watch now-"

"I _will_ take you down, Mukuro!"

Looking back over the two fighting teens, Reborn let his fedora shadow his face, hiding his features. Leon's gift to Tsuna had been a pair of wool mittens and a lone bullet, one that he had yet to use. Currently Tsuna had drawn out his own flames, changing the texture of the gloves as they drew in his flame.

At the moment they were like leather gloves, sturdy yet not to their full potential. Even in the in between state that Tsuna was in, Mukuro was having few problems fending off the brunette. Reborn tsk'ed, loading the bullet into a transformed Leon and aiming it at his wayward student.

"You mean well _Dame_ Tsuna," Reborn murmured, taking aim, "You just need more intent."

The gun went off at the same time Ken burst into the room with Chikusa's arm slung around his shoulder. Reborn nearly cursed his luck when he felt the change in Tsuna – the frantic, almost frightened animal like aura shifted to something much more controlled. The edges were smoothed out and Tsuna seemed to burn even brighter, the change in him causeing the two Kokuyo boys to stumble never having felt anything quite like it, which Gokudera took quick advantage of.

Another explosion rocked the building, Chikusa having been blown back out in the hallway and Ken moving out of the way just in time.

"Tell your friends to stand down," Tsuna spoke, holding his hand out in Mukuro's direction, the other in the direction of Ken, who pushed himself up. The blue haired teen laughed, his head lolling to the side as he barely cast a glance to one of the boys that followed him.

"Do with them as you wish," Mukuro chuckled, shrugging at Tsuna's threat; "They're disposable."

Tsuna's brow furrowed, amber eyes on Mukuro searching for the lie, but he couldn't find it. "You," the teen grit out, voice low as he tried to process just how uncaring and shameless the teen before him was, "Don't care at all do you?"

"You're all a means to an end," Mukuro replied, his posture relaxing as he reached for something behind his back, "But it seems I overestimated you, Young Vongola." Withdrawing his arm, the teen pulled out a small pistol that he held against his head. " _Arrivederci~"_

"Wait-!"

The trigger was pulled at the body fell, sickeningly similar to how Natsume's had earlier, but this time with a more final end. Tsuna gaped, eyes slightly wide. He was caught off guard and it was only his heightened senses that managed to catch the blond boy's fist in his palm, fingers enclosing around it and flaring out his flame.

The copper eyed boy sported similar eyes to the one who had just killed himself, but the feeling of him wasn't like the wild spirit Ken was, it was more subdued, more calculated….

"How?!"

Ken's face pulled back into a smirk, which was wiped away quickly as he realized the hold Tsuna had on him. Swiping at him with his other arm, Tsuna caught that one too.

"The possession bullet should have been forbidden."

Ken shot the baby hitman a scathing look, trying to kick himself out of Tsuna's hold, "My, my, so well educated you are arcobaleno."

"Enough of this," Reborn called out, ignoring the jibe at his intellect, instead giving his student a hard look, "Finish it already."

A nod was all he got in response, followed by Ken's screams. Tsuna's focused his flames, willing them to search out for anyone else that had the chance to become possessed. The brunette didn't notice the way his flames fanned out across the room searching for the taint that was Mukuro. Tendrils of pure orange flames wrapped around the three behind him, one snaking out towards the hallway and the last one encasing Mukuro's body entirely.

' _So this is Vongola Decimo?'_

* * *

 _xxiii_

 _My body ached for days after Kokuyo._

 _My mind ached for days, moments that happened and should have happened coming and going._

 _Moments of a time where I was taking high school exit exams._

 _Of a time where I threw myself in between a fighting couple._

 _Of smiling and forgiving a man, when I know I didn't mean it._

 _Moments of a time where death was perhaps better than living._

 _That was me before, but that was Jasmine too. The me now wants to live, to see, I want to protect and be with my family._

 _I'm not sure what I want anymore, but I know, I know I just want to live and be at peaceful._

* * *

"I don't think this is good for me," murmured the sandy haired girl, as she held the blue stone between her fingers delicately. "Azurite, it helps, _a lot,_ but…"

A finger flicked her in the forehead cutting her off. She blinked slowly, as if in a daze when she looked up from the stone and up at the plum colored eyes of her teacher. She looked at him, confused not really sure what to do. He flicked her forehead once more, before reaching down and plucking the innocent stone out of her hand and inspecting it himself.

"Most crystal healers would tell you azurite is good for you," Kawahira spoke turning around and pacing the living room. "It certainly is helpful in certain tasks, you've been privy to this, but what is it that truly bothers you Natsume?"

There was a heavy sigh that escaped the girl, a slight intake of breath and then silence. The man didn't turn around, opting to keep his back to her as he closed his fingers around the stone, concentrating on it and hoping to get a reaction out of it.

"I just keep having these dreams," the girl finally admitted after a long while, "And it's starting to get to me."

It'd been about a year since she'd come under Kawahira's teachings and while she wasn't going to straight out tell him exactly what it was that was bothering, she could say that they were just dreams. It's not like he would suspect anything else. Right?

"And when did these dreams start?"

When _did_ they start?

They tended to come and go, usually only happening when she was feeling overwhelmed. They happened a lot more when she was younger, but now not so often.

"I've had them since I was little."

Kawahira hummed, still staring at the stone in his hand before he pocketed it. He turned back around, keeping his distance from the girl, merely looking her over, almost avoiding her gaze.

"Do you think they mean something?"

He locked eyes with her, projecting his calm to her as he could practically taste her nerves and anxiety. She was just a girl of fourteen – almost fifteen – what he knew of her through what she let him know, she was one who didn't really trust her inner most fears and desires to anyone, not even her own brother.

She felt herself relax, the tension in her shoulders easing, didn't feel as if she was suffocating under an unknown pressure, "I think they used too." Even her voice wasn't as high as it was before. Kawahira's right hand turned palm up, his gesture for her to elaborate, "I mean, _y'know,_ that the dreams don't mean anything, they just happen as if wanting to be remembered? I don't know how to explain it."

Another hum from the white haired man and Natsume felt like she was being judged just a little bit. Really who could fault her for that? She was used to explaining things to her brother, who ended up understanding her due to what she dubbed their 'twin-speak'. Explaining things to other people took more effort and a bigger picture to get across.

"You could trade the azurite for another," Kawahira spoke up after a while, gesturing towards his shop with his shoulder, "For now, let's have our tea yes?"

She would have to come to terms with herself before she could try the azurite again, if she ever did. Really there was only so much he could do before the memories of the past needed to be dealt with.

* * *

 _September 13_

"What?"

"Oh?

Natsume looked at the postcard her mother had handed her – it depicted a blue and yellow coast, with an old car turning on the highway, across the top " _Coastal California"_ was written and right underneath it was her dad's signature.

"Pap's in the states?"

"Exciting isn't it?" her mother asked, returning to the stew she had on the stove and began to scoop out the excess fat that bumbled to the surface. Nana sighed dreamily, "Oh I could only hope to know what it's like to work in new places like your father does."

Natsume could only try to agree with her mother, already having an idea of what her father did. Though judging by the less than stellar post cards the man sent, she was sure he sent someone out to grab these things. She looked over the post card again before putting it up on the fridge again, on second thought her father had an ability to get gaudiest of things.

A soft purr made her rethink that statement – only to completely give in that her father had no taste when it came to sending his family things. Emi was one of the best things he had sent, there was still a rather hideously colored skirt that he had sent both Nana and Natsume (so his lovely ladies could match!) And while Nana had rather happily worn hers (but not out, only around the house) Natsume still hadn't put hers on (it didn't fit anymore thank goodness).

"Do you think he'll be coming soon?" Natsume asked as she shooed her cat out of the kitchen.

"I hope soon _is_ soon, Tsu-chan, he prefers to surprise us," which wasn't perhaps the best way to come upon them, but it was something Iemitsu did consistently. Even his phone calls in the last year had become sporadic compared to the once every other month he used to do. "What's with that face sweetheart?"

Her mother's hands cupped her face, thumbs rubbing over the apples of her cheeks and Natsume realized how much she had grown once again. Natsume puffed her cheeks, crossing her eyes as she did so, "This one? I thought that was my face."

Nana laughed, softly smacking her daughter upside the head before she pulled away. "Oh you," her mother resumed what she had previously been doing. "How has school been? I know I've asked Reborn for your brother, but you seem to keep out of his tutoring sessions lately."

' _For good reason,'_ Natsume thought as she poked her face into another pot her mother had out, "Good, Kim-sensei asked me again to tutor, but I think I do that enough here with the kids."

Her mother hummed, tilting her head to the side, "And what else?"

"School just started _ma_ , I'm keeping up so far."

"Tsu-chan you've always kept up," Nana stated, "I've seen improvement in your brother's studies, but you seem to have been up and down, is everything fine sweetie?"

Natsume had hoped that her mother hadn't noticed the way her grades had been fluctuating last year, then again her mother had studied to become a teacher once upon a time so she would notice such things if she just kept a look at the report cards Natsume brought home.

Nana must have taken her prolonged silence as something else, because the woman continued on, "I know things have changed a lot in the last year, Tsu-chan, I just want you to know that I'm not mad," the woman looked at her over her shoulder, giving her a closed eye smile, "I just want you to do your best and if you ever need anything, know that I am here."

It seemed she had a lot of people who were willing to have her talk – her mother, Kawahira (because the man could be so _nosy_ ), and even Kyoko and Hana were there for her.

"I know, I know."

"Good, now could you peel some potatoes and carrots for me?"

* * *

"I don't want to involve her any more than she has to be," Tsuna had spoken up, fiddling with the necklace Natsume had gotten him for his birthday last year. "I think it's time that I stood up for the both of us."

The hitman didn't seem phased by his students sudden proclamation, instead he hopped onto the desk and looked over the answers to his homework. There was at least a twenty percent increase in Tsuna's grades, though he would prefer for them to be perfect Tsuna would eventually have to leave Namimori behind, meaning he couldn't have the position of outstanding student if he was meant to be easily forgotten.

"She would fight you on that."

The brunette huffed, crossing his arms as he glared down at his desk. He had hated watching his sister lay there, hurt and used because of him. Reborn hadn't told Tsuna yet that he had been the one to send Natsume over to Kokuyo. Tsuna had the idea that Reborn had explained the situation to the girl and had probably sent her home (Yamamoto had said the baby had asked her to stay back), only for said stubborn girl to decide to deal with things on her own as she was prone to do.

Well, not exactly prone, but if it involved him she would rather deal with whatever was going to bother or harm her baby brother. She was scarily overprotective like that and maybe when they were younger it was nice, but now when things were starting to get dangerous? He'd rather she didn't seem so persistent on being the one to stand in front for him.

"I know that and I don't want her to do that anymore," Tsuna sighed out, resting his elbows against the table top and putting his face in his hands. "I'm supposed to be this boss, doesn't being a boss mean protecting those beneath you."

"So you have been considering the position?"

"If someone who wants it comes along, I'll happily hand it over!" Tsuna responded quickly, not realizing that he moved his head to the side to avoid being swatted by a transformed Leon. There was a small quirk of Reborn's lips at his student subtle progress, sadly Tsuna didn't count on Leon transforming into a huge glove that swatted him upside the head. "HIE! Can you not?!"

"Pack up, it's time to go on your run."

There was a rather sarcastic remark that Tsuna made that would have usually made Reborn retort with something much more clever.

"What was that?"

The watery – almost as if he was on the verge of tears – sound of his voice seemed to give Tsuna pause, who seemed to deflate and was about to apologize, only to fall back as Reborn kicked him in the chest.

"Shouldn't fall for that so easily, now go you have ten seconds."

Watching Tsuna scramble up and make a mad dash for the door would never cease to be entertaining.

"Tsuna – oh okay."

And there was the one person he hadn't been able to pin down in the last week. He had already had his time to get how Yamamoto and Tsuna were feeling; meanwhile Gokudera knew exactly what they were getting into. He stepped out of the room, waiting for Natsume to finish her way up the stairs.

"Why are you just standing there?" she asked once she came up, walking towards her room, "Also where you the one who sent Tsuna out like that?"

"Maybe," was all the hitman responded as he followed behind the girl when she held the door open for him, when the door closed shut, he cut straight to the matter. "Kokuyo, what happened?"

Natsume looked at him, eyes straying to his shadow, before back to his face. She sat down on the floor near her bed, where she rested against it.

"Things happened that shouldn't have?"

"Are you asking or telling me?"

The girl pursed her lips, her hands coming up to fiddle with the buttons of her school shirt. "I'm telling you, I only ended up getting involved with Mukuro because I made the mistake of letting Hibari-san lead," she said, looking at the wall across from her and giving it a blank stare, "Then Mukuro happened." And the boy had thrown everything for a loop, well not really him, more like what she did to him had thrown her for a loop. Because who knew repressing someone's memories could dredge up your own right?

"We fought," she continued on, pulling her legs up to her chest, "He, his eye, it was not something I thought possible, he was stronger than me." She was lying already, but wasn't it almost the truth? Mukuro was convinced that he had gotten her in the end; she was only continuing the tale as it should be.

Reborn didn't blink as he pulled out a camera from the inner pocket of his jacket – (really what was with this kid pulling things out of his suit like it was an endless bag?) – turned it on and seemed to scroll through it until he finally found what he wanted.

"What about this?"

The girl paled considerably as she looked at the camera, mouth hanging open as she took in exactly what he had taken a picture of. She turned away, her mouth snapping shut.

"One less to deal with is how I thought about it," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on the tops of her knees, "I used my flames to weaken where he was going to step and he fell through," she cleared her throat, unconsciously one of her hands came up to her face, her fingers tracing softly against her forehead. "Honestly I completely forgot about him."

Silence followed suit, one that Reborn let sit for a while as the girl gathered her thoughts. He didn't know if he should think it good or not that she wasn't completely losing it, but then again Natsume was oddly more composed when it came to the darker side of things.

"This kind of reminds of the time when that man tried to take Tsuna," the girl said, her voice a little muffled due to her mouth now resting against the crook of her elbow. "I think that was why dad came down with Papa Nono, I still don't know if I really hurt that man or if I outright killed him."

"It feels gross to know that I did that and willingly, to someone else," she finally turned to look at him, her eyes that dull amber color, "But for my family, I'll do anything."

* * *

 **AN:** You know I was actually quite hoping to draw this out for more, but it was kind of quick and to the point, hopefully it wasn't too fast, I don't mean to rush through any parts, it just how it ends up typing itself out (like I tried this chapter three times, THREE). Also this chapter is shorter than the others (I like ending at a nice round 8000, this is just a little over 7000), but it ended where it wanted too. (even though I kind of hate the ending).

Most background stuff for this story is being written up and it'll either be posted separately or on my tumblr (sorugao bandgeek . tumblr. com) (withoutthespaces). I have things for Mama Sawada written up (see Her Heart) and I've been complete shite in including our dear mama.

Anything weird? Lemme know.

Constructive criticism is welcome, anything I can work on I will gladly take (I feel like my descriptions are lacking and I overuse certain words, but ehh, I'm not too sure).

I'll try to update again in two (maybe three) weeks, don't take my word for it (jury season is upon us - for those who are music majors, you know my pain). So I'm mostly cleaning up my piece and getting ready for the big three performances this semester, along with my other classes homework and finals..

Until next time,

 _Sorugao_


	10. VIII

**AN:** Just warning you guys, this chapter may seem like it jumps around alot. Mostly cause my attention span couldn't focus to much on certain areas and I wrote most of this at fuck o clock in the morning.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

* * *

It was a little after two weeks of the Kokuyo incident and the boys, namely Yamamoto and Tsuna carried themselves in a way that they felt as if they would be attacked. They had gone to the plaza to buy Gokudera a present and it was in the way the two boys looked at others and seemed to minutely tense up, before deciding that everything was safe.

The idea that anyone could be what Mukuro had been was on the front of their mind, it was amusing to Reborn in a way that not everyone was going to be like Mukuro, but it was in the boys (and Natsume's) best interests to figure out their own way of deciding that. The lone female of the group understood better, keeping her usual distance to stranger's as she had before.

The charismatic baseball player would have moments of hesitation, his eyes narrowing and his smile looking sharper than usual, until he relaxed when he felt one of the twins poke his side.

The to-be-Mafia Boss had been with him for most of the year and was more at ease than the other two, yet there was an assessing look in Tsuna's eye as he went through the crowd, casually observing and straying a bit closer to his sister than usual.

Looking through the various shops, Reborn had let them go on their own, staying behind at a café that Natsume had suggested he would like. Leon had scampered off when he made himself comfortable in one of the booths, a little surprised on how he could keep an eye and see where his charges were going. The last he had seen them was when they went into what looked like an antique shop.

He noticed when they left and as they approached noticed how much more relaxed they were, how Yamamoto didn't look as haunted and how Tsuna seemed as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Even Natsume had more of a bounce to her step, though her expression was just as bland as ever.

The trio took note of where he was and while the two boys made to join him as Natsume went up to the cashier and placed an order. When she joined them at the table, she placed two warm drinks in front of the other two, taking a seat beside Reborn.

"Its tea for Tsuna and a hot chocolate for you Yamamoto," Natsume told them as the two boys eyed their drinks and tried to make out the writing on the side of the cup. "I also got us some pastries too, they're just warming them up."

"Is this where you got the melon bread the other day?" Tsuna asked as he carefully sipped at his drink – black tea with a hint of sugar and creamer added to it. At his sister's nod, Tsuna took a much longer sip, slightly burning his tongue.

"Do you think he'll like what we got him?" Natsume asked, leaning her elbows onto the table and slightly kicking him as she shifted her leg. She apologized, but did it again, this time giving him a rather cute smile that showed that she was just doing it to bother him. Tsuna rolled his eyes at her.

"It fits him."

"Especially if you give it to him personally, I'm sure he'll be stoked," Natsume carried on as if he hadn't responded to her question, ceasing her one-sided footsy war with him.

"Your goods, miss."

Natsume leaned back, thanking the barista as he brought out their order and placing it before them. The older teen inclined his head, before returning, not noticing that Natsume had stared after him a little longer than usual. Without much thought she lifted the lid of the box, picking out a croissant and split it in half, offering a piece to Reborn.

"It has chocolate filling in the middle, unless you want something else," Natsume lifted the lid with one finger to peek inside the box, "There's also anpan, cheese danish, and melon bread."

Reborn only shrugged and took the offered piece, chewing on it slowly as he looked over them. Mulling over his previous thoughts, the infant noted that though he looked less worried, something still bothered Yamamoto, even if the boy was talking rather excitedly about his upcoming game. Tsuna munched on one of the anpan's, asking questions to clear up any confusion he had about the game. All the while Natsume just watched the two, shaking her head at the numerous rules of the sport.

Reborn didn't comment on it, instead he let himself have his own moment of peace as he sipped at his espresso.

* * *

Reborn and Tsuna had gone off to do things of their own – which meant physical training for her poor brother, but really that's what he got for slacking off in gym class, when he could have just pushed a little more. Then again it didn't help that he was the master of tripping over himself and that he just wasn't meant for sports.

Give the boy a controller and he would kick ass at Mario Party – Every. Single. _Time._

It left her and Yamamoto by themselves, walking toward the residences where they would go their own way seeing as Yamamoto lived closer to the market district than she did. It was a rather odd silence, usually it was amicable between the two, but there was something going on with the taller boy and Natsume had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with what had happened earlier in the month.

It wasn't her business to pry, but she would mention it to Tsuna that Yamamoto was a little more down than usual.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Yamamoto."

She was about to go off on her own, but something kept her. Kyoko would call it her sixth sense (which maybe it was, flame business and all) seeing as it was found out that she had a knack for picking up on certain things from people (mostly just Tsuna and her mom).

"Hey," she spoke softly, reaching out for the boys sleeve, the zoned out and rather blank look on his face made her feel unwell. "Yamamoto?" She tugged at his sleeve and it seemed to jolt him. The taller teen perked up, plastering a fake smile on his face and offered her his sheepish, boyish charm.

Yamamoto rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that Natsume wasn't buying it, if anything she looked even more unimpressed. A brow raised, her eyes slightly narrowing as she looked up at him.

"If you say you're fine, I'm going to punch you."

And she probably would.

And that wouldn't be fun, small she may be, Natsume hit hard.

He winced, the smile falling from his features as he hunched over, his arms coming up to cross against his chest. How was he supposed to explain it? That it was just about a year since he tried to commit suicide and there were feelings he thought he had managed to push aside coming up and making him feel worse than before? That even though he was excited for his upcoming game, he loathed for it to come, because all his teammates were able to talk about was him being their ace. Him being their lucky star. That he couldn't stand how his own teammates looked at him because all they saw their winning chance?

Of course he couldn't say that.

"But I am – guck!"

He flinched as Natsume dug her knuckles into his side, her eyes now glaring up at him. And wasn't that weird too? To think that the least ambitious, most average students would be his actual friends than the circle of 'cool' kids that tried to flock to him.

The twins, even Gokudera, were the most honest with him. They showed him who they were and what they saw him as. A friend.

"That hurts," he fake-laughed, reaching out and trying to restrain Natsume from hurting him. His attempt to get her to stop just renewed her vigor to hurt him because he had lied to her and _wow maybe he did deserve this_.

"I know it does, maybe it'll make you remember not to lie."

And it was so unlike, but completely like Yamamoto to scoff as if he was looking down at her. As if she was less, but that wasn't what irked her, it was the pitiful look in his eye – the sadness, the loneliness that he tried to hide and it _bothered_ her.

"If you hold everything in, it will only get worse," she let him grab her wrist the second time and respected his silent plea as she pulled away. "Sometimes you have to feel and acknowledge everything, _y'know,"_ she felt like a hypocrite for saying that, but there were somethings _she_ didn't want to know. "You're not alone."

"If you ever need anything Yamamoto, we're here."

She ended up being hugged, the dark haired teen's arms wrapping underneath her arms as he hid his face in her shoulder. Natsume froze, not used to the contact and slightly uncomfortable since they were in a rather public – if empty – area. She patted his back a little awkwardly and understood some people's need for touch to be comforted and Yamamoto seemed like the type who would prefer it.

"Do you want to go to your house or mine?"

There was no answer, only a slight sniffle and the barest of nods. Not knowing to what he answered too, she rather gently tugged his arms from her, keeping one of her hands around his. The other came up to pat his head and the teen looked up, his eyes bright and his cheeks red.

She smiled at him, "Come on, mam's making beef stew tonight."

And if he stuck a little closer than usual, his posture a little more hunched, she didn't say anything. There wasn't much she could really do but be there for him.

* * *

"Mam! I'm home and I brought Yamamoto!"

A response came from her mother's room, followed by the 'pat-pat' sound of tiny feet running against the wooden floors. By the time she realized it, Natsume had a six year old jumping into her arms, making her drop bags.

" _Ane!_ " Lambo cried in greeting, looking over his shoulder as I-pin calmly walked up to them and sticking his tongue out at her. "I told you I'd win! No one can beat Lambo-san!"

"Hello to you too Lambo, I-pin," Natsume greeted, nodding towards I-pin while rolling her eyes at the boys antics. She turned to Yamamoto who seemed to stare at the two of them, "If you want you can go to Tsuna's room," there was a small chirp, and there was Emi, sitting right before them, staring at them with a rather knowing look. "Or you can give her attention, I'm pretty sure that's what she wants."

The cat meowed before stretching up and slinking its way towards them, rubbing against Natsume's legs in greeting before curling herself between Yamamoto's. Said teen crouched and held out his hand to the cat (as he had seen Natsume do numerous times before) and let her sniff him before she bumped her head against his hand. By the time he realized it; he had an armful of black cat and was sitting on the couch listening to Lambo regale the day's events.

"See!" The six year old held out a sheet of paper, with drawings that had certain sections labelled with what colors to use. "Maman drew this out for me and helped me color!"

Natsume had been with them, but had been called to her mother's room. The two's whispered words were barely heard, and the older twin came back there was a tension that wasn't there before. He was about to ask what was wrong, but thought better against it when she managed to sneak up on Lambo and grabbed him by his sides. The afro haired child squealed as he was tickled and the tension in Natsume seemed to melt away as she picked him and let herself fall back onto the couch. The carefree smile on the girl's face was different and rather weird to see compared to the usual half-smile she sported (which wasn't easy to tell on how she was feeling).

"Tsuna should be coming home in a couple minutes," she spoke up once Lambo wriggled out of her hold and slid himself away from her, letting his head rest against her lap. She ran her fingers through the young boy's thick mane, "He's usually here after seven when he goes out with Reborn."

"Thank you."

The confused look that crossed her features made him laugh, but he didn't explain any further as he leaned back, idly rubbing at the rather content feline on his chest. There was a nudge against his leg and he looked down to see Lambo grinning rather mischievously. Yamamoto felt the tips of his ears burn as the kid stuck out his pinky and gestured to Natsume, who wasn't really paying attention as she had pulled out her phone and was texting someone.

The dark haired teen shook his head and completely ignored the curious look Natsume cast him when Lambo burst into a fit of giggles.

Really one of the few friends he has that's a girl and people have to assume that there is more to it.

* * *

' _Hey Hana, I won't be able to go this Sunday with you and Kyoko.'_

' _Ahh….why?'_

The cutesy face with the tongue sticking out made Natsume snort, completely ignoring the silent conversation going on between the two beside her.

' _I don't have enough money, honestly.'_

' _Kyoko and I don't mind paying for you if you like something.'_

' _Nah, I'd rather you two not spend your allowances like that.'_

The next text was a rather dramatic crying face, _'Next time then!'_ Natsume closed her phone, looking up just in time to catch the rather odd exchange between Lambo and Yamamoto.

"I'm gonna go set the table," she said as she stood up, giving the two a rather questioning look, she gestured to whatever was happening between them, "You two do you."

It was when she was bringing everything out that she heard her brother stumble in, a rather drawn out ' _hiiiee_ ' being his greeting as he all but crashed (or tried) on the couch, only to land onto Yamamoto who caught him at the sacrifice of having Emi jump from his chest.

Natsume watched Tsuna flail, rolling off of Yamamoto and onto the floor. There was a shriek of giggling from Lambo as he poked at her brother's head, accompanied by a groan and Yamamoto's own laughter as he got up to help Tsuna. The sandy haired girl stared at the scene, happy to know that even though everything wasn't going to be fine, there were still times for these.

"You look like you're having some deep thoughts."

She tensed up at the sudden voice that popped up beside her, no longer flinching or outright yelping when Reborn snuck up on her.

"It's just nice to have days like today."

The night passed by smoothly, and when Yamamoto was about to leave she didn't want him to, mostly because she wanted to make sure and see that he was fine. The boy ruffled her hair, which earned him a half-hearted glare.

School the following days were the usual, though she did keep a closer eye on Yamamoto and was more conscious in asking him how he was feeling. Tsuna was quick to pick up on it and even Gokudera – after being forced to accept his (belated) birthday gifts and acknowledge that the baseball idiot could at least get somethings right – noticed.

So it was no surprise when the three of them would wait for him to get out from his practices. Natsume would poke his side – which tickled and she knew that now and _would never stop_ – her way of acknowledging him and asking if he was fine, before she took off to meet with Hana and Kyoko. He realized once Tsuna explained to him that she did something similar to him, though she would usually throw herself on him when he would ignore her.

And it was nice; it warmed Yamamoto to know that he had people that actually cared now. Sometimes it was still hard to take that in, because he was so used to just keeping to himself while also seeming like he was part of something bigger and making sure he didn't worry his father too much.

To have the chance to be free and open and not worry about being judged, it was nice.

* * *

 _xxiv._

 _I want to help in any way I can._

 _Sometimes I know my help would go unnoticed, but as long as I can soothe and help chase away my friends and families fears away. I will do it, even if later on I am not who I am today, I will continue to give myself._

 _This is my second chance at life and I will help. I will be strong. I will listen. And I will stand up when others are unable too._

 _Because I am able too._

 _Because I can._

* * *

 _September 29_ _th_

It was the big game day and they had all gone to support Yamamoto.

Their section of the audience was rather rowdy, what with Gokudera and Sasagawa yelling over each other and then almost throwing down when Gokudera got annoyed with the white haired boxer. While Kyoko tried to calm her brother, Natsume made sure to keep the sugar filled Lambo from straying away, which was made easy to Haru being there. The brunette girl may have gotten to a rough start with her, but she had grown on Natsume – mostly due to Kyoko's influence. As ditzy as she appeared, she was smart and was able to corral and keep Lambo's attention long enough to distract him from whatever inane thing he had set his mind too.

As much as she loved and adored the six year old, he could be quite the handful.

"Who let him have more candy?" Natsume asked as she pried the half eaten sweet from Lambo's hands, making him whine and become teary eyed. She held up her finger and shook her head, " _Mam_ is making your favorite tonight, and do you want to spoil it by eating all this?"

"Natsume-chan's right Lambo-kun!" Haru put in when she realized that the tears were beginning to fall. "Sawada-san will be really sad if you can't try her cooking!"

The boy mumbled underneath his breath, difficult to hear when the crowd roared.

" _Homerun! By Yamamoto Takeshi of Nami-chuu!"_

Natsume squinted in annoyance as she scooted closer to her group when the people next to her began to chant and wave some homemade signs about. Really, the game was going in favor of Namimori, who hadn't won a game in the last five years, but wasn't this a little excessive for a middle school baseball game?

Then again weren't Americans and their high school football teams similar?

Or was that college football?

And why of all things did that come up?

Mentally shrugging it off she continued watching, even if she didn't understand, she could at least try to learn something. Then again she would prefer to play than to keep track as an audience member, even if she wasn't too good at batting.

There was a moment when an odd feeling rent the air, as if someone was watching her, but she ignored it. She wasn't going to let herself get distracted and possibly ruin her good mood.

The game went on a little longer after that, the score ending in Namimori's favor and rousing a rather deafening cheer from the crowd. Perhaps she could agree with Gokudera on this, sports fans were nuts, even though he shouldn't be the one too talk.

The people left soon after, they being the only ones remaining behind, along with Tsuyoshi, Yamamoto's father. They greeted the older man and waited with him for Yamamoto to come out.

"There he is!" his father cheered, throwing an arm around his son and ruffling his short hair with the other, "You did great out there!"

The congratulations went around from there, a slap on the back from Ryohei, a rather back handed compliment from Gokudera, a side hug from Kyoko and Haru, a high five from Tsuna and a thumbs up from Natsume.

There was a pitiful whine from Lambo, who had come down from his sugar high, his head lolling against Natsume's shoulder as shifted him in her hold. Said girl rolled her eyes, chastising the six year old and murmuring something to him.

The kid looked up and gave him a thumbs up like Natsume had, before laying his head back down. Natsume snorted, "I'm going to take these two home," she told Tsuna, I-pin was in Bianchi's arms, much more calm, but just as tired as her little cow. "Text me if you guys end up doing something, yeah?"

Waving at the group goodbye, the four of them parted ways.

"Hey Bianchi."

"Hmm?"

"How do you do it?"

The seventeen year old looked at Natsume, a serene look on her face as she did so. The corner of her lips quirked up, a wistful sigh escaping.

"Love," was all Bianchi had to say, because it was her motivation and her will. What Bianchi hadn't expected was for the girl to giggle and hold Lambo closer to her.

"Just like mam says then?"

* * *

"I want you to feel deep within you and reach out for every negative feeling you've ever felt or shunted aside, I want you to bring it forth and let it hang in the air."

Natsume opened her eyes and stared at Kawahira.

"How exactly?"

"Reach for it first," his eyes narrowed on her causing her to straighten up. It was never good for her when the man got that look in his eye. She gulped, letting out a shaky breath before doing as she was told. "Keep your eyes open, if you get this you won't be doing it with your eyes closed."

She focused on the clock overhead, trying to keep her face clear of emotions as she thought about anything that she considered negative. There were many thoughts that came to mind, but she didn't focus exactly on them, instead she tried to gather the emotions. She felt her mood shift, felt annoyance clawing its way up, before everything felt like it was a bother to her. She glared at Kawahira, her eyes staring him down as it was because of him, she was forcing herself to do this. Then there was that infuriating smile of his, it made her want to wipe it off.

"Don't," was all he said, as he tilted his head down, "Now bring that energy outward and let it bare down on me, I give you permission."

He felt the beginnings of it, how the girls flames recreated her feelings as a faint mist and tried to wrap around him. He could practically taste her anger, before it flickered and there was a switch, followed by his student crumpling back. Not expecting that, Kawahira got up slowly and went to check on Natsume, only to see the girl's eyes rolled back into her head and her mouth opening and closing as gibberish escaped her.

Placing his arm on her shoulder, he tried to shake her awake. It didn't work and he had to resort to jolting her awake by zapping her with a small dose of his own flames. A wheeze escaped the girl as she was snapped out of whatever she had fallen into and her eyes frantically searched the room.

" _El muerto esta aqui, death is here,_ I am-"

He placed a hand over her forehead and rendered her unconscious, letting her slip away into a blissful rest and that she wouldn't remember this upon waking up. Kawahira glanced around the area, wondering if perhaps the God that everyone should fear _was_ here, but it wasn't.

The white haired man sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what the girl had been on about. Deciding to think about it later, he made to stand up and was about to leave Natsume laying on the floor, before he decided he could lay her down somewhere much more comfortable than the floor. Cruel he was not and he did feel rather guilty for what had happened, though he had never seen such a thing occur.

Exactly what memories and whose feelings did the girl get too?

* * *

" _Jasmine!"_

 _The voice was familiar and it eased her troubled mind. The brunette girl pushed herself off of the bed and headed towards the living room. The tv displayed a soccer game going on which she ignored to focus her attention on the woman who was rather too into the game._

" _Mande?"_

 _The woman blinked, light brown eyes glancing at her before going back to the tv and completely ignored her. It was odd, her mother usually never did this, she usually got straight to the point._

" _Mam?"_

 _The brown haired woman ignored her and continued to do so even after the announcers voices from the game cut off and all the could be heard was static. The twenty one year old reached for her mother, to shake her shoulder, only to have the woman's attention suddenly on her. The lightly tanned face morphed into something grotesque, the rounded chin elongated into a point as the woman's round eyes narrowed and turned a milky white._

" _You died! Me dejaste sola! You left me alone! Porque te moriste?"_

 _The creature began to hiss in a distorted voice, its body trying to move up from the couch. The movement was telegraphed, there was an after image as the thing managed to get up and reach for her. Clammy hands touched her cheeks and she stood in place, staring in horror at the thing before her._

" _You are not my daughter! Adónde esta mi hija? Where is she?"_

 _She felt herself losing her breath, she was this woman's daughter, but what was her name? And why did she become this terrible creature? Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she was forced to lock gazes with the creature, a wicked smile crossing its lips showing pointed teeth._

" _You took my daughter! Te llevaste mi hija! I'll take you now."_

 _Hands squeezed around her throat and began to press tightly, tears began to fall and she could do nothing but let it do so._

" _Ma..mi….. perdoname."_

 _She didn't notice as the creatures hands began to fall away, nor as the living room lost its vibrancy and the static of the tv set itself back to the way it was._

"GOOLL! _Pachuca gana! ."_

* * *

Natsume opened her eyes and she already felt that the upcoming week wasn't going to be as fun as they usually were. The sandy haired girl pushed herself up slowly, noting how her body felt much heavier and protested a lot more than usual.

"Wide awake now aren't we?"

The smell of chamomile tea was the first thing she registered and she really had to hand it to her mother. She crossed her legs, back slightly hunched and though she knew Nana would eventually tell her to sit up straight, happily accepted the cup of tea.

" _Gracias mami._ "

The words instantly registered as foreign to her and she almost spilled the hot liquid onto herself. She looked up, hoping to meet familiar brown eyes, but instead she gazed into plum colored ones. Natsume froze as she took in the amused face of Kawahira, who continued to go about as if she hadn't confused him for her mother.

"I remember someone once mentioned how I would be a good father," the man spoke, sounding amused. "I don't know about being a mother though, I'm pretty sure either or they were joking."

The man proceeded to hand over a couple packets of sugar and a spoon for her to use. In typical Kawahira fashion he did not bat an eye at her slip, but he did point out that if she continued to sit with her mouth open she would choke on a fly. She felt herself go through the motions of preparing her tea, careful to not make eye contact with the plum eyed man.

The two sat in silence even after they had finished their drink, all the while Kawahira kept a careful eye on his student. Watched as she retreated into herself and thought over whatever she was fretting about. Sighing the man decided to take pity on his student and offer her some words to console her.

"Sometimes you must accept things as they are, Natsume," he started off, pushing himself off from his chair and began to collect the cups they had used. He noticed how she flinched, but choose not to comment on it. "It is within human nature to be wary and cautious about things they don't understand."

He left her with that, to ponder his words and if anything came out of it, she would bring what was at the front of her mind (or always pushed aside) to him and he would help her.

* * *

Natsume left Kawahira's shop soon after the man had left her alone. As she walked home, she tried to think about what Kawahira had wanted her to do and why there was such a gap in time. It had been midafternoon when she had arrived at the shop and now the sun had long since set. Cursing her luck, she quickened her pace and was elated to know that she would soon be able to lay down.

Soft piano music began to fill the air and she slowed down her pace, enough to swing her bag off her back and in front of her to get to the vibrating phone inside. The song ended as soon as she pulled it out and she was surprised to see three missed calls and various text messages.

Flipping her phone open, she texted her brother who had been the one to call her and told him she was on her way. She then proceeded to answer the texts Hana and Kyoko had sent her.

"Sawada."

She would admit to no one that she yelped, nor that she almost broke her phone when it slipped out of her hands in her surprise. She grumbled, flipping her phone shut and putting it in her front pocket and turned around to tell off the person who had surprised her.

The sandy haired teen wasn't expecting to see Hibari, even though she should have recognized his voice. She gave the older teen a questioning look, only to have to quickly duck beneath one of his tonfas.

"What the hell Hibari-san?" she asked as she threw herself to the side to avoid the kick he aimed at her face. The prefect didn't respond, only followed after her, continuing to throw various combinations of attacks. Natsume not prepared at all for this threw a pebble at him that enlarged and became one too many for the prefect to just take a hit from.

Using that distraction, the mist user sprinted the last few minutes home hoping to avoid any further confrontation only to almost run into Hibari's vice president. The tall teen didn't blink as the girl almost barreled him over, he was more curious to see what she would do and why exactly the president was interested in her.

A whine left the girls throat as she looked over her shoulder to see the approaching figure of Hibari, who looked a little none too happy with her.

' _Think Natsume think,'_ she thought to herself as she fully turned, keeping Kusakabe at her back and Hibari in front of her. A set smile crossed her mouth as an idea hit her. "Ne, Hibari-san, can't we do this some other time? I do have to go home."

The prefect didn't even bat an eyelash, this time leaping at her and almost taking down Kusakabe, who just managed to step back from the attack. A sigh escaped the taller teen as he looked over at Hibari and then at the girl, who was giving them a rather creepy smile. She wiggled her fingers at them, mouthing _'have fun~_ ' at him, which greatly confused him.

Looking back at Hibari, he noticed the fixed look the president had on him and Kusakabe felt a chill run up his spine.

"Hibari-san?"

His knuckle dusters were on the second he managed to dodge Hibari's attack and realize what had happened. Kusakabe took a chance to glance around if the Sawada girl was still around and ended up taking a hit that had him stumbling back. Whatever the girl had done he was going to find out what so he wouldn't get caught in this again.

Natsume meanwhile managed to sneak off and make it home. The downside was that Reborn answered the door with a knowing look in his eye. She could feel her brow twitch as she shrugged off her bag and sat down on the floor to undo her shoes.

" _It was you_."

"Maybe that will teach you to not come home late," was all the infant said as she left her in the entrance, ignoring whatever faces she made behind his back. The lesson wouldn't be learned for a while and Reborn was curious to know what other ways Natsume planned on escaping Hibari.

He of course heard her muttered comments and without even looking back he tossed Leon over his shoulder who morphed into steel toed boot that hit her right over the head. That should teach her to curse him behind his back.

* * *

Tsuna laid in bed, having woken up early enough to just be able relax and slowly make his way out of bed, instead of the usual getting kicked out of bed. He sighed in content as he sat up, kicking off his blankets and enjoying the way his muscles pulled when he stretched his arms above his head.

He could always count on Sunday's being peaceful, even if on this one he had been assigned a prep period. At least he didn't have to be at school at the usual time and could get there later. Clearing his throat, the brunette stood up, walking quietly past a sleeping Reborn and headed towards the restroom.

Passing Natsume's room he heard a groan, followed by a groggy _'leave me alone Emi_ '. The morning battle between cat and owner was about to take place, Emi having gotten used to her feeding times being early in the morning would probably annoy Natsume until she got up. Rolling his eyes at his sister's antics, Tsuna locked himself in the restroom and got himself ready for the day.

When he finished, he headed back to his room to change into his school uniform and headed downstairs. The door to Natsume's room remained closed and he assumed she wasn't even going to go to prep today. When he got downstairs and into the kitchen he was overtaken by the amount of food that was being prepped and questioned his mother about it.

He took a slice of grilled pineapple from one of the plates and promptly choked on it when his mother answered.

"Papa's coming home!"

Nana didn't notice the shift in her son's attitude, nor did she notice the tone of his voice when he barely responded. She set aside what she had been cutting, wiping her hands on her apron and turned her full attention on her baby boy. She beckoned him to her and wrapped her arms around him.

"You will talk to your father, Tsunayoshi," she said, her voice barely a whisper against his ear when she hugged him. When Tsuna pulled away from her, his mood darkening considerably, Nana held on, her hand coming up to cup his face and have him look at her. Darkened brown hues met bright ones and Nana's smile could be considered bittersweet, "Be safe today Tsu-kun."

She placed a kiss against his temple and she couldn't help but sigh as she watched her son leave. She could not force Tsuna to welcome Iemitsu, nor could she demand him to play nice. Though she often tended not to voice her concern, she noticed how her son held himself and Nana wished that Iemitsu could be there to talk with him. There had been things happening in and around her home and she herself didn't know how to go about it.

She knew Tsunayoshi would try on her behalf, her boy always did. She just hoped her husband wouldn't ruin it. Nana's shoulders dropped a little as she leaned against the sink, her hands coming to cup her face, knowing Iemitsu he would find a way to ruin it, unintentional as it was.

Above her she heard a bellow, followed by mild cursing, Nana shook her head.

Really whoever woke Natsume should know better by now _not_ to do so.

* * *

Bianchi wasn't surprised when the Sawada matriarch asked for her help. The seventeen year old kept her hands off of the food prep going on, knowing how much this meant for Nana to do herself. Instead she hovered a little, looking over the dishes and asking what was used to make them.

Nana had happily supplied the recipes, sometimes giving some backstory on it from when she was a young girl. It was only recently that Bianchi had realized that the woman wasn't a native of Japan, not after she heard her singing a Hawaiian lullaby to both I-pin and Lambo. Curious and wanting to know more about the woman that treated her as one of her own, the magenta haired woman asked and Nana had happily answered.

It explained a lot about the woman, how she so easily accepted them all, even if she realized and often came to the conclusion that they were a rather violent bunch. It also explained Natsume's reaction to her answer a couple weeks ago, when the girl had asked her how she did it. The Sawada woman was a force to be reckoned with.

Not in the physical sense, Bianchi saw it in the way the woman happily opened up her arms to any that came through her household. She had often watched as her little brother was subjected to the woman's kindness and motherliness, how the woman held onto her love for her husband even if she was feeling at odds with him – Bianchi was an expert at reading people, could see how much the distance put a strain on the older woman.

No one, not even Reborn, was exempt from the woman's mercies.

And Bianchi was happy to know that such a person existed and had shown her ways to be a greater woman than what her own mother ever did.

So when Sawada Iemitsu came knocking and a tearfully excited Nana answered the door, Bianchi stood a ways back, arms crossed and a cool expression on her features as she took in the older man. Nodding at him, Bianchi made her way upstairs to let Natsume know her father was home.

While she couldn't do much to push Nana to talk, she knew Natsume was one who could push and prod her mother to speak what was on her mind. Bianchi smirked as she mentally clapped herself on the back, Sawada Nana was a sweetheart of a woman, with the biggest heart ever.

Sawada Natsume on the other hand could be just as sweet as her mother, but could be the biggest bitch if she had too. Knowing how in-between the girl was on feeling about her father, she wondered how the sandy haired teen would react.

* * *

Natsume came down and was quickly picked up in a bone crushing hug. She squirmed, patting her hands against the chest of whoever held her, but that just led them to squeeze tighter.

"What the fuck?" she grouched out lowly, kicking her legs out and aiming for a place which would probably hurt the man. Of course before that could happen she was put down, strong sturdy hands stayed on her shoulders and she saw the smiling visage of her papa. "Why do you always do this?" she asked, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Iemitsu's shoulders.

"I like surprising you~"

Natsume pulled away, stifling a yawn as she shook her head at her father's reasoning. Looking around she made sure Nana wasn't around before she reached up and pulled at her father's ear. _Hard_.

"You're a mean papa," she said, eyes closing in a mockery of a smile as she heard her Iemitsu make a sound at the unexpected action. "Who throws their children head first into the mafia without a word of warning?"

Her eyes were hard and Iemitsu got the awful feeling of disappoint once again when he realized his daughter had inherited more than just his looks from his side of the family. She had also gotten Tomiko-obaasan's mean glare and wasn't that something he never wanted to see again. Natsume pulled her hand back and crossed her arms across her chest as she waited for him to say something.

But what could he say to defend himself?

Iemitsu sighed, hand coming up to rub the back of his head. His eldest always knew what to say and do to make him feel bad – worse – than usual. While he knew Tsuna would most likely try to avoid him and be rather aggressive with him, especially with how he left all of sudden last time, Natsume could flit between being upfront or extremely passive aggressive.

"I though Reborn was enough of a warning."

She didn't bat an eyelash at that; instead she pushed on, "Please tell me you're just visiting because you missed us, not because you have business."

Iemitsu placed a hand on his daughter's head, ruffling her hair and Natsume watched as her father seemed to age beyond his years.

"Everything will be explained and I hope you can forgive me, Natsume."

* * *

It was late afternoon when Reborn and Tsuna came home, surprisingly without the others. Though one look from Tsuna as he realized just who was home by the boots on the doorway, seem to push Tsuna further into whatever bad mood he was in.

He headed upstairs, realized that Natsume was locked up in her room and he decided to do the same. After what happened today, he would happily put off meeting his father instead of getting it over with. Reborn let Tsuna do as he pleased for now and headed for Natsume's room, knocking on the door.

The door opened, Emi leaving the room, her tail flicking about as she roamed the hall before sitting herself in front of Tsuna's room. Reborn didn't question it and instead walked in, closing the door shut behind him.

"How's Iemitsu?"

Natsume shrugged as she let herself fall back onto her bed, "Papa is papa, comes in as if he didn't straight up run off last time he was here." She answered, bringing her arms back behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. "Also I don't think he knows how to handle teenagers."

There was a muffled snort that came from Reborn, who joined her on the bed, his weight dipping down as he sat beside her. The arcobaleno could agree with that especially after meeting Basil and how the teen talked in an archaic way.

"Something bad is happening isn't it?"

Reborn at times hated the famed Vongola Intuition and right now he really hated the situation that was going to come upon them. Natsume took his non answer as confirmation and pushed herself up and resting her weight back on her hands.

"Is there anything I can do?"

The rings at the current moment where in Dino's hands and would be given out to Tsuna's chosen guardians. Not that he would tell her that.

"Just watch and _don't_ get involved."

The girl nodded and watched as the toddler jumped off the bed and left her room. She spread her flames to make sure he was gone and called them back to her. If memory served her correct something big was happening, something that would further cement Tsuna's position as Vongola Decimo.

Whatever it was eluded her for the moment, but Natsume knew it could be nothing that would be good for her brother or anyone's health.

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter was brought to you by various late night writings and complete and utter lunacy. We all may come to the conclusion that Natsume's an endearing, caring asshole if your her friend and an asshole who wants to make you hurt if you make her (or her mother and brother) upset (*coughIemitsucough*). She's trying on behalf of Tsuna and cause she's getting used to everyone being around. I tend to deal with my friends when they're upset/sad/feeling super down by offering them food and just staying by them, so Natsume has that going for her.

On the other hand what was up with that nightmare? We get to see a little of what her previous life left her with (nightmares, spanish, and a fear of death, along with memories of a old KHR that come and go).

Uh. Also can we get a whoop, whoop up in here? **We Are Two** is at a total of ten chapters, with **41** reviews, **180** favorites, and **222** alerts. A huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story - ya'll are the real MVP and the reason why I continue to do this (and because I _want_ to what the hell happens, and I'm pretty sure you guys do too).

So, questions, concerns, comments, constructive criticism go for it, tear me apart. ( _Don't at least until after finals when I'm feeling free and human_ ).

Until next time,

 _Sorugao_


	11. IX

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff**

* * *

Natsume and Tsuna stood at the bottom of the staircase, both looking on at the scene before them. Nana and Iemitsu sat beside each other at the kitchen table, Nana's chair pulled up close beside her husbands, one of her elbows resting against the table top, her hand cupping her cheek as she spoke with Iemitsu. The sparkling admiration, love, and a touch of something else shown in Nana's eyes, instead of their mother's usual thousand watt smile, there was a smaller, much tenderer one.

Natsume elbowed Tsuna to get his attention and when the boy's narrowed eyes were on her, she gestured towards the entrance.

"We can stop by one of the food marts," she murmured to him, reaching and wrapping her hand around her brother's wrist and pulling him towards the front door.

Their mother perked up at her voice, their father turning to see who had caught his wife's attention. Iemitsu's eyes zeroed in on Tsuna, a calculating look on his face before it was replaced with a goofy smile. Their parents waved goodbye, Natsume being the only one to return it as Tsuna pretty much took off.

The sandy haired twin sighed, grumbling underneath her breath as she closed the door beside her. Her twin waited for her at the gate, a glower on his face.

"If it was possible, I'm pretty sure you could get set mam's flowers on fire."

That glower was then directed at her, to which she raised her brow at. Her expression was the definition of ' _really?',_ though before their glaring match could turn into a screaming match ( _which Natsume would win, without screaming and more with her fists_ ) Yamamoto had managed to sneak up on the two.

Tsuna yelped, Natsume merely sucked in a breath, a tick developing near her brow.

"Morning!" the tall teen all but chirped as he pulled the two into a side hug.

"Don't just grab the tenth like that!"

Natsume looked skyward, a silent plea to whoever was up there to help heror so _help her_. She patted Yamamoto on the back (a quick pat-pat) and pulled away, for once taking the lead instead of staying behind the trio.

"Ah, Tsuna did you get anything weird in the mail today?"

She could just imagine Tsuna's blank look, before he doubled back and checked their mail box. There was a screech, one that had Natsume looking over her shoulder as her brother freaked out over whatever was in his hand.

"But I saw him take them!"

"Gokudera, what happened yesterday?" Natsume asked, as the silver haired teen stood beside her, an unusually happy vibe emitting from him. Said teen looked at her, thinking on how to tell her what had occurred the day before.

Should he tell her how they had been attacked? That he and the baseball idiot had been completely out of their league when they tried to face off against the insane swordsman. Judging by the confused, yet curious look she had no clue what had happened yesterday and if _he_ were the one to break the news to her instead of the tenth she would surely appreciate it.

Or not, it could go either way.

So as they resumed their walk, Yamamoto all but dragging Tsuna as the boy seemed to have mentally shut down while gazing stupidly at the half ring in his hand, Gokudera explained. He then apologized for being weak in protecting her brother, to which she absentmindedly waved away.

"Oh."

She realized, or more accurately, had a feeling of what exactly what was happening.

" _Oh_."

Is that why their father had showed up, to continue this mafia business even further?

When they reached the school yard, Natsume handed – stuffed – their shared phone in Tsuna's pocket, deciding to get away from them before she snapped at them for doing something stupid. Walking up the stairs towards her classroom, Natsume settled herself in her assigned seat, laying her head against her bag as various scenarios played out in her mind.

Would she be considered for whatever was happening or would she be put aside?

* * *

"Onii-san was pretty excited this morning," Kyoko was saying, while Hana muttered underneath her breath that Ryohei was always excited. Natsume nodded, acknowledging that she was listening as she broke apart the cookie she was eating. "Said he was getting a new trainer."

The auburn haired girl sounded worried, she didn't particularly like that her brother boxed, being against fighting, but Kyoko understood that he needed an outlet. And although she was willing to let him have his way, it still didn't sit well with her when he got in the ring and willingly put himself on the receiving end of someone else's fists.

"Could it be a scout looking out for new blood?"

"While that could be a possibility, that phrasing doesn't make it sound good," Hana sighed, responding to Natsume's question. Though it was miniscule, the two did notice how quickly Kyoko perked up, her eyes lighting up at the possibility of her brother being scouted and perhaps being offered a scholarship.

"Maybe that's it?" she even sounded perkier, "I don't like boxing much, but if _onii-chan_ can get a scholarship for it, it would help out so much."

While Natsume munched on the remainder of her snacks, Hana and Kyoko continued on talking until the bell rang to return to class.

The rest of the day passed and when it came to leaving, Natsume waited by the school gates for Tsuna and the boys. Minutes passed and the sandy haired teen decided she was just going to head home on her own.

"Tsume~"

Her name was drawled out, and already knowing who it was, Natsume brushed by, her father blinking at being so easily ignored before catching up to her.

"That's mean, Tsu-chan."

The girl didn't deign that with a response, only sighing in exasperation. Iemitsu's arm came to wrap around her shoulder, pulling her close to him and she let him lead her around. The two walked in silence, passing a couple street vendors along the way as they headed towards a small shop that sold ice cream. October it may be, yet it was still relatively warm so Natsume happily let her father talk her into a treat.

With a cup of one of her favorite flavors (it was simple chocolate, but it was _heaven_ ), Natsume sat beside her father, eating slowly, her shoes idly scuffing against the pavement as she gently kicked out her feet.

"These are as good as I remember," she heard her father comment. She glanced over at him and although she was angry at him, she knew she didn't have the heart to hold it against him. Still if what she hoped wasn't happening _was_ happening, that could easily change.

"Shina-san has always had the best flavors," she agreed, using her spoon to get a bit of her father's. She heard Iemitsu exhale through his nose, a faint hint of laughter of escaping him.

"I'm going to have to ask you to forgive me, Natsume," her father sighed out at last, handing her the rest of his ice cream. His hands came together, his head bowing forward as he refused to meet his daughter's eye.

Of the two, he always treated Natsume as if she were older, compared to his tendency to baby talk Tsuna. He still hadn't managed much of a word with his son, who he was sure was in the throes of puberty and would rebel against or outright ignore anything he had to say. Iemitsu honestly had no clue how to approach the boy that once adored him and now only looked at him with an emotion bordering on hate.

He would admit to that being his fault, the last year or so he hadn't been the best at either writing or calling and his last visit having been about three years ago. As prickly as she was, Natsume was the more reasonable of the two, and from the reports Vongola had received from Reborn, she often kept back before adding in her input. It slightly irked Iemitsu that the famed hitman had slated his daughter for the life of an assassin due to both her nature and flame.

"I am afraid I'm here for business this time around," he said, straightening up from his slouch and finally meeting his daughter's gaze. It was in the way her eyes narrowed, the way she pursed her lips, and the way her shoulders all but drooped down that he could feel her disappoint. She looked away from him, slowly breathing out and returned her focus on the melting ice cream.

Only to poke at it, her want for the cold treat obviously gone.

"Are we just the investment then? Checking up on how the goods are holding up?"

The anger in her voice wasn't hard to miss and the choice of words cut deep, because if anything he would _never_ see his children as such. They were his pride, his joy and his biggest regret would always be not being with them.

"That's not why I'm here, Tsu-chan," he tried to defend himself, falling back on the shortened name in hopes that it would bring back _some_ familiarity to the situation. He could see how her jaw clenched as she held herself back from making a remark, how her hands shook before she clenched them tight, and the cup of ice cream forgotten beside her.

"Then why are you here then?"

He felt old.

The weight of the situation settled rather heavily on his shoulders. He was well known for his leader ship skills and his prowess in battle, few daring to go up against the famed Young Lion of Vongola. And yet for all his skills and experience, he never truly _felt_ the situation. Sure he understood it, understood that loss and hate were a part of any given moment if something went wrong.

He was in charge; he had taken responsibility for his subordinates, so why did it feel so wrong trying to find a way to explain to his fourteen year old child that he hoped he hadn't set up his own son to death? Handing out the Vongola Rings to a group of teenagers was already questionable; the reason for it being because Vongola's Varia group had gone rouge and were looking to take them was just plain suicidal _._

"You deserve to know," he sighed out, leaning back against the bench, looking up into the sky. Before his thoughts decided to stray or he lost his nerve, he pushed on, "The Varia has made its move and only half of the rings have been distributed already, it's much sooner than expected, but your brother and his chosen guardians will have a fight on their hands in little over a week's time."

The area was rather public, he couldn't say more unless he wanted to be overheard. As quiet and peaceful as Namimori appeared, it wasn't such and news that a group like the Varia were going to show up would have the older generations skittish.

" _What?_ "

He looked over at his daughter, watched as her anger fled away to be replaced by worry and fear. Iemitsu forced himself not to break, he kept his expression neutral.

"Your brother will be fighting and you will not be a part of it," his eyes narrowed, the unspoken _'do you understand'_ ringing loud and clear. He could see her about to fight, a 'but' waiting to be spoken only for her to stand up. He could see Natsume retreating within herself, clamming up and forcing herself to appear stoic.

"Fine," she grit out, "We should go home, before _mam_ starts to wonder."

Grabbing her things, she led the way home, walking ahead of Iemitsu and not casting a glance back at the man. He was the second person to tell her to stay out and she would do so, she would just ensure in her own way that her brother and whoever else involved was safe.

First of course, she had to find out exactly who the Varia was. She wouldn't go digging through the recollections of the once-a-woman just yet; she would see what Kawahira knew, before she went down that road.

* * *

"Meditation is always the goal, young padawan."

Natsume could feel her brow twitch at Kawahira's words. The amused older man had told her just enough of what Varia was, but not _who_ they were. Pretty much they were one of the underworld's top assassination squad's, the one that small guilds strived to be like and tried to match. Then of course he noticed how unbalanced she was – the man had an eye and could tell when she wasn't her usual self – and then forced her to take a seat and gather her thoughts.

Still she was happy about not having to go around the memories she had been managing to keep out of her dreams. After Kokuyo and the mishap with the azurite, she'd rather not be assaulted by memories and feelings that didn't belong to her.

" _Relax_ ," the poke to her forehead drew her from her thoughts and she gazed up into the plum eyes of her sensei. "You have time to fret later, right now just focus on calming your nerves."

Because a frantic mist wasn't someone anyone should be around.

"Do this and we can people watch."

She exhaled through her nose, her eyes fluttering shut. In for four out for eight, in for eight out for sixteen, in for four out for eight. She counted in her head, kept her mind blank until she felt as if she would float up from how light she was. She then brought forth the previous day's interactions, specifically the one between her and her father and later on the one with Tsuna.

She sorted them, let the words that were now all a mumbled mess wash over her. _Nine days. I'm training. You will not be a part of it. Chosen will fight. Varia. Fight. Not interfere. I don't want you fighting._

She opened her eyes and stared blankly ahead of her. Her hands weren't as shaky as they were before, but the words still rang clearly. Her mouth twisted into a sneer, with a flick of her wrist a large cat appeared, curling around her, its form constantly shifting from mist to sand dust.

Natsume lightly tapped its nose, its blank eyes glowing before settling on a light brown color.

"Time to go people watching."

Kawahira watched a smirk on his lips as he watched everything play out. With a slight hum, he did as his student had done, a small bird zipping to and fro above him, before it followed the medium sized cat out.

"Let's see what interesting things we see today, yes?"

* * *

Seven days.

That's how much time he had left.

It was a rare break that Reborn gave him and so Tsuna took it beneath the shade, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the way the shadows hid him from the sun. The way he hid in the shadow so easily, it was comforting, something he had done all his life – _hide behind Natsume, hide behind his mother, stay in the place where they couldn't find him._

Seven days and every waking moment was spent in the light, forcing himself to strengthen his muscles, to strengthen his mind, to strengthen the fire within him.

Chocolate brown eyes looked up towards the cliff, how daunting it had seemed at first. Yet he had found himself climbing it, because he knew if he didn't it would be much worse than being on the end of Reborn's gun.

A bell chimed, he found himself pushing himself up and running towards the cliff.

Brown eyes flashed gold, the wool gloves became leather ones and he took a running leap. He could feel the grit get between his fingers as he grasped at the side of the cliff, could feel the rock scrape against the tips though he didn't feel the pain.

 _No more hiding._

In the shadows, they watched. They themselves were just that, playing tricks on the mind of the unwary, but there was a chill. There was presence.

 _And so she learned to hide._

* * *

On the fifth day, Tsuna brought along Basil. The blue eyed teen spoke weirdly, but then again his rag tag group of friends had quirks that were often over looked. The brunette came face to face with his father, instantly overwhelming him with his happy-go-lucky attitude, before it did a quick 180.

"Watch over the wielder of the lightening ring," Iemitsu told his son, then motioned to Basil to follow him "We'll be checking the perimeter and making sure the others are safe."

"Of course, master!"

"Master?"

Iemitsu only smiled, before he ruffled Tsuna's hair and left, Basil at his heels. The fourteen year old was left confused, only to be ushered by Reborn to begin looking for his lightening guardian. The two left, the door behind them closing with a click, not noticing – or willingly ignoring – that Natsume had overheard them.

The girls eyes flashed, her mouth pursing, yet instead of heading out and following her brother, she headed upstairs. Going into her room, she locked the door behind her and sat herself on the floor by the foot of her bed. She dug in her jean's pocket and pulled out a small deck of cards that she began to shuffle.

Cutting the deck in half, she picked the one in her right hand and only picked out three cards that she laid out side by side. She sniffed as she looked over them, her eyes becoming half lidded as she traced over there figures.

 _Mew._

Emi had found her way in through her open window and quickly curled up beside her, amber eyes focusing on what her master was doing.

A smile quirked Natsume's lips, her eyes slipping closed as she imagined a bigger feline like she had at Kawahira's.

Eight of clubs.

King of Spades.

Eight of Spades.

 _A troublesome man, perhaps filled with greed and jealousy, currently seeking his king to prove his worth. And yet no matter how hard he tries, he disappoints._

"He is a sad man," Natsume sighed out, stroking the conjured cats head before it headed out her window. "For he who attacks my family, does not get off lightly."

Hazel reflected back at her and she saw herself sitting, her view changed as the large cat sauntered out, following Tsuna's obvious trail. She could see her neighborhood rushing past her as the cat stuck to the shadows and came upon the scene where the children were being chased down. The urge to jump in and help was strong, but she held it back, only observing.

And even though it hurt that she could do nothing for the children she considered _hers_ , she was more than glad when the others showed up. Then again when _they_ showed up, she thought it better to leave than to stick around.

Blinking a couple times, the scene changed and she was once again in her room. She breathed in deeply, rolling her shoulders and trying her best to shake out her nerves. Collecting the cards she put them back in the small box and began to get ready for bed.

"So that's Varia," Natsume breathed out, as she settled herself on her bed, not bothering to undo the covers. "Good luck to them then."

* * *

When Natsume woke up the next morning, it was to know that Tsuna had actually gotten ready for school and headed out early. With a heavy sigh, she got ready, heading downstairs with her things in tow.

"Have a good day at school, Tsu-chan!"

She mustered a smile for her mother, who she kissed on the cheek before she headed out. The older woman squeezed her upper arm as she pulled away, her way of saying that she was there for her.

That at least gave her some motivation and she moved on, going through the day as she had the others. By sitting back and watching, trying her best to include herself in conversations with Kyoko and Hana. She caught glimpses of the others between breaks, but other than that she didn't really talk to Tsuna.

Her brother was caught up in what was happening, worrying about his friends and himself. Her father was now much more focused on making sure everything continued on smoothly, now that the opposition was here. Reborn was the enforcer, the one who showed Tsuna how to do things and gave him subtle encouragement.

She was just an extra, Natsume realized and that cut a little deeper than it should have

On her walk home alone, the sandy haired teen was stopped short by a bird that chose to settle on her shoulder, its chirps turning into quiet words in her ear. She flicked her fingers at the bird, shooing it away and continued her way home.

It was time to see how well she could hide and how good she could lie.

Natsume heard her brother leaving and without much thought she followed suit, leaving behind a clone of herself just in case her mother came to check in on her. Tapping Emi on the nose in goodbye, Natsume made her way out of her window and carefully made her way to the edge of the roof.

Judging the distance from where she was crouched down to the ground only took a second and instead of overthinking it, she did what Kawahira would call a ' _stupid thing'_ and jumped. She decided at the last second to use her flame to soften the impact, focusing it around her feet. She landed, bending her knees to make the jump less harsh on her joints, only to stumble over and fall face first into the ground as she forgot to include the ongoing momentum she had.

With a quiet groan, she pushed herself up and walked around the house towards the side gate that would take her up front. Pulling the hood of her jacket up, Natsume made sure to focus a thin layer of mist flames over herself, making it so that nobody realized she was there.

There was a quiet chuckle as she made her way down the street, taking the usual path towards Nami-chuu, followed by someone tugging off her hood.

"You're so annoying sensei," Natsume bit out, not even glancing back at the white haired man. She pulled the hood back up, looking out of the corner of her eye to catch the man materialize out of thin air. "Also when can I do that?"

Kawahira chuckled, placing a hand on the girls shoulder and guiding her down another way.

"You can only have so many tricks up your sleeve Natsume-chan, how about we just focus on the ones you know now?"

Natsume made a noise similar to that of her mother's when dealing with the children. Grumbling quietly to herself, she let Kawahira guide her towards the middle school. When midnight came, a blazing light came from Nami-chuu that made Natsume squint her eyes as she looked directly at it.

"Oh it looks like it has started," her teacher's following words seemed to drip in sarcasm, "Let's hope we don't miss anything _too_ interesting."

* * *

As Ryohei and Lussuria fought each other, the present arcobaleno could feel a shift in the air. There was a presence here that was highly unwanted and uninvited, one that made Reborn grit his teeth, that made Colonello grip his gun a little tighter, and made Mammon hover a little uncertainly.

The echoes of a mocking laugh was heard by no one else but them and though they really wished to seek them out, for now they let it pass. The three cursed toddlers didn't know if any of the others could feel it, but it felt like numerous eyes were on them and it made their skin crawl.

The battle before them was going nowhere, Lussuria was toying with Ryohei, Tsuna was trying to calm Kyoko when the girl appeared without so much as a warning and only processed the ongoing fight. It made Natsume want to grab the girl and shake her a little as she witnessed her friend lose herself for a moment.

Hana seemed to know better than to open her mouth, knowing that any assumptions she made and shared with Kyoko would be like pushing her friend further down instead of helping her up.

Natsume watched all this – Hana's white knuckled grip, how Kyoko held her hands as if she were in prayer, noticed how Tsuna tried to keep his own calm (and he had been doing well until Kyoko) but it showed in how he held himself.

She wasn't impressed with what she was saw, nor was she surprised at what happened next. Ryohei was always one for doing things with passion, for pushing past limits that people had set upon him. Having been over Kyoko's house a couple of times, she knew the older boy would do anything to keep his sister happy.

It was almost a mirror situation of her and Tsuna's relationship, only that she wasn't Ryohei and Tsuna wasn't as clueless as Kyoko could be.

So when Ryohei completely punched out the other man's knee, it wasn't really surprising. Unexpected, sure, especially since the white haired boxer was past his limit, _but not surprising_. Neither was it surprising to see the downed man's ally shoot him down afterwards.

"How ruthless," she whispered, looking away as her brother and his friend's protested the action.

"Sometimes we must be willing to cut the weak link out and that is what they have done," the words made Natsume thoughtful and she let Kawahira guide her out before the others began to leave. The two walked together in silence, Kawahira nudging her when they were outside her home.

The man gave her an unusually kind smile and ruffled her hair before bidding her goodnight. Natsume watched the man's back, her expression one of sad contemplation.

"Could I be Tsuna's weak link?"

* * *

Tsuna had to muffle the scream that threatened to escape him upon being surprised by his sister. Reborn pushed the boy in so he could get through and get his things to get ready to go to sleep. It was a tiring night, much more than he had originally thought it would be, so Reborn didn't put much attention to the twin's conversation.

"So how'd it go?"

The brunette seemed to pause, giving his sister a considering look, before he told her of what happened. There was a bit of concern that he could gleam from her, especially when he mentioned that Kyoko showed up.

"She thinks it's a new way to apply for a scholarship."

A strangled sound came from his sister, "I care for that girl, I truly do, but sometimes –" she made a strangling motion with her hands before she threw them up in the air. "Was Sasagawa badly injured?"

Tsuna pursed his lip, he unzipped his sweater, shrugging it off as he pondered his answer. "Big brother _should_ be fine; we took him to the hospital that Dino-nii set up the last time he was here."

Silence fell between them and Tsuna looked away from his sister's inquiring gaze, he instead busied himself looking for his pajama bottoms among the mess of the floor.

When did his room start resembling his sister's?

"Tsuna, did you hear me?"

"Ara?"

The prickling sensation at the back of his neck made the hairs on his arm stand. When he turned to look back at Natsume, her brow was raised and she was sitting in a way were if she didn't like his answer, she would pounce on him. _Literally._

" _Little brother, who is fighting tomorrow?_ " her English was slightly accented, but it further showed her annoyance.

"Lambo," he all but sighed out, though he didn't look away.

He saw her eye change color at the same moment Reborn appeared out of nowhere and tried to kick his sister's head. Natsume dodged, her amber eyes still on him. He could feel something within him roar back at the challenge and though he didn't notice, his eyes changed to a deeper gold than his sister's.

Reborn could feel the power rolling off of the two, there wills clashing and could only stand back lest he be caught up in it.

"I will be there tomorrow," the way her eyes narrowed even further kept him from interrupting her, "Allowed or not, anything happens to that boy, it will be on _you_ and _Papa_ for letting him fight."

Tsuna didn't buckle beneath his sister's weighted gaze, nor when the whites of her eyes turned indigo. He knew Natsume had always had this side to her, but he had never been on the receiving end of it.

"Goodnight Tsunayoshi, Reborn."

The door shut behind her, leaving Tsuna and Reborn in an odd quiet. The arcobaleno blinked, never really expecting to see the eldest of the twins to do such a thing against her brother.

"She's pissed," Tsuna breathed through his teeth, eyes returning to their brown hue, "She's pissed and I did it this time." He ran his hands through his hair and took the place where his sister had sat. Tsuna cast a glance at Reborn who only stared at him, "But it's weird, usually when she blows up like this it's because things have been –"

And it came to him that the last couple days he had but been ignoring his sister, leaving her out of his training, and more than anything he hadn't exactly explained right away what was happening. She had to find out through Iemitsu, who instantly told her she wasn't fighting and when she came to him he had only shrugged and said that it's better that she didn't fight.

The person who had watched out for him since they were young had been told numerous time she wasn't to be involved and could have probably come to the conclusion that she wasn't good enough to protect him.

"I doubt that's the conclusion she's reached," Reborn spoke up beside him, "It will do to keep a closer eye on her in case someone is manipulating her thoughts."

The Varia's mist user came to mind and the well-known Esper wouldn't be above using underhanded tactics to further rattle Tsuna and the others. There was also that unknown person that Natsume knew, who even _he_ couldn't reach.

"Get some rest Tsuna, tomorrow's going to be a long day."

* * *

The twins didn't go to school the next day, Natsume deciding to spend it looking after the children and Tsuna going out with Reborn to continue his training. Nana was still in bed, sleeping in later than usual which was odd, but the eldest twin was sure her mother wouldn't mind her staying home from school.

It was odd to note that Nana was the only one taking care of the kids, Bianchi was usually here, but the older teen had a tendency to come and go as she pleased. It was also probably safer for the children without Bianchi around, because at least Natsume could feed them without accidentally poisoning them.

While Fuuta ate quietly, I-pin and Lambo had been bantering back and forth, the afro haired child getting louder and more frustrated since the other girl wasn't backing down.

"Shh, you two, mama's sleeping," Natsume hushed them, setting down a simple plate of scrambled eggs and cooked sausage. "Do you want to wake her up?"

Lambo's eyes widened, his head shaking side to side before he dug into his breakfast. Before he could even ask, Natsume squeezed some ketchup onto his plate and a little on I-pin's when the young girl waved at her for some.

"There you go, it's not on mama's level, but eat up you three."

Fuuta gave her a kind smile, his eyes getting that distant look only for Natsume to interrupt by lightly tugging at his ear.

"Not at the table, Fuuta-kun."

The young boy grinned sheepishly and resumed his meal.

For the children she put up a front, one that she was happy and at peace, though inside she was everything but. If the other two noticed she was doting more on Lambo than usual, they wouldn't say it. The two unlike Lambo could tell something very wrong was happening and that it had upset their big sister Natsume and the two had a feeling it went hand in hand with what happened a couple nights ago.

It wasn't explained to either child what was happening, but their constant dealings with the Mafia told them it wasn't anything good.

"Tsu-chan shouldn't you be at school?"

A puppy like pout crossed Natsume's features as the Sawada Matriarch bid them good morning and walked up to the table, a soft smile on the older brunette's features.

"Morning mam, I wasn't feeling too well."

"Ara," Nana leaned over, the back of her hand going to Natsume's forehead. Nana's gaze seemed to harden a little before the look was replaced by a tender smile. "Sometimes we have to take a step back to deal with our feelings, Tsu-chan."

"Yet other times we have to fight so others understand what we feel."

* * *

"VOI! What's _she_ doing here?"

Natsume only gave the one who shouted a deadpanned stare, before she shifted her focus back to the toddler in her arms. Said toddler was currently gaping at the set up before him, his eyes shining with curiosity and a mighty need to _touch_ the odd field.

As the Cervello women explained the rules and the setup of the field, Iemitsu choose that moment to appear besides his daughter. A strangled cry from an anxious Tsuna and barely a bat of an eye from his daughter, the blond haired man leaned down, one of his hands coming up to Lambo's head and telling the kid,

"Good luck out there kiddo."

The six year old nodded, patting his big sister on the arm (his way of telling her to put him down) and was about to skip off into the field, only to be pulled back by Natsume. Lambo looked into the worried eyes of his big sister and he could feel a slight want to just curl back into her arms and forget about what the Elettrico Circuito.

"If you ever want to get out Lambo or don't want to do this, you say the word I told you, alright?" Natsume whispered into his ear as she pulled him into a hug before she let him go. The little kid nodded rapidly, causing something to fall out of his hair and Natsume used the banter between Gokudera and Lambo to regain her nerves as she straightened up.

A hand clasped her shoulder, one that she shrugged off and she didn't need to see Iemitsu's frown to know what the man felt about that.

"He has to do this."

Natsume responded, "Like it matters to you."

Iemitsu winced and was about to respond, only to have Tsuna put himself between the two. Surprised at that, the blond man's shoulders sagged at the quiet reprimand in his son's eyes. He wasn't even trying to be the bad guy here!

He was trying to help.

"The match between Lambo and Leviathan for the Thunder Ring will commence!"

Lambo's cries of surprise and pain were different tonight; it wasn't followed by the boy's pitiful sniffling to get attention, or the fake bravado that he tried to put up to appear strong. There was no way to cross into the field to get to him and there were no words that Natsume could say to him, her tongue felt heavy as she watched Lambo get struck once again.

There was a cry from Lambo that had chills going up and down her arm, but she was held back from crossing when Yamamoto and Gokudera grabbed her arms. With the two boys on each side of her, they held her back as Lambo cried, hands fumbling through his ridiculous hair.

"Come on!" Natsume seethed through grit teeth, "Just say the word Lambo."

The child instead pulled out the infamous bazooka of his and shot himself with it and even though he was now ten years older than before, it still didn't settle her nerves.

"Natsume," she could hear Yamamoto call her name, but she was too busy zeroing in on the necklace the sixteen year old Lambo wore, her mind all but screaming at him to use it like she told him too if he wasn't able to talk. She relaxed back, though her shaking was obvious and the two boys thought it was due to nerves and the pouring rain - Natsume was quietly seething with rage.

Even if the power difference between the current Lambo and his six year old counterpart was impressive, it still wasn't enough to deal with Leviathan. It seemed like Leviathan finally had his chance to do as he pleased only to have the sixteen year old boy pull out the same bazooka and shoot himself with it.

There was hope in the air on their side, Natsume could practically taste it, but she had a feeling she knew how this ended. The twenty six year old trumped Leviathan easily, returning the blows his counterparts had received twice as hard. With a resigned look, Lambo was about to take down his opponent only to switch back with his five year old self.

When the plume of smoke drifted away it was for Leviathan to be standing over the prone form of Lambo, a wild look on his face as he brought his leg back and kicked at the still body. There was a dull glow that came from around Lambo's neck and Levi's hit smacked against the arms of a translucent looking, but rather solid body.

A roar escaped the Varia guardian, bringing his fist down at the top of the constructs head while cries from his fellows called cheating, the Cervello only told them what they had said for the use of the bazooka – it was within the rules.

Iemitsu's eyes widened at the sight, his gaze zeroing in on the familiar figure only for it to dissipate under a third blow from Levi. When the man went for the fourth and final blow, the sound of metal being torn apart and the cursing voice of his daughter told Iemitsu a lot about his children.

Tsuna had finally lost his nerve and noticed the familiar power protecting Lambo by the ping he felt from it. Moving fast enough he managed to undo the entire circuit just as his sister was phasing her way towards Lambo.

Levi jumped back in time before the rods got him, only to have something bounce off his forehead.

"You wanted that so much stick it up your ass and show it to your boss!"

Iemitsu finally understood Nana's comments from over the years about their precious little daughter.

' _Tsu-chan can be very calm, but she doesn't have the best temper when it goes.'_

An impressive aura bore down on all of them at that moment and Iemitsu quietly hoped that his daughter kept her tongue. By the looks of it, she wasn't much affected, her glare becoming quite frosty when it landed on Xanxus.

"Leviathan is the winner; the ring of Thunder and the ring of Sky will be surrendered to the Varia in conclusion of the match.

"No shit," Natsume uttered into the silence as she crouched beside Lambo, gingerly touching over the areas that were bleeding badly. " _Y'know,_ a medic would be nice," the girl said to one of the pink haired woman, who was approaching Tsuna, "Or is the exchanging of rings that much more important for fuck ass over there?"

 _Absolute silence._

Iemitsu quelled the urge to put his face into his hands; instead he approached his daughter, turned to Tsuna and beckoned for him to come. While one of the woman approached the other spoke into a mic within her hood and called for said medic, seeing that being done Iemitsu turned his attention to Xanxus who sported a sinister smirk.

Meanwhile the Varia were getting shivers from seeing the shit eating grin on their bosses face.

Xanxus hadn't felt such happiness in a long time and even if the bitch before him was mouthing off, what the fuck did he care?

 _He was Vongola now._

By putting the two pieces of the ring together and slipping it on his finger, he felt complete. And now the trio before him stood up to him, faces set and ready to throw down. His finger itched to just blast the girl away, but he was sure he could have fun with her later, for daring to speak to _him_ the true boss of Vongola that way.

"I could kill you guys right now if I wanted too," he told them, his deep scratchy voice sounding beyond pleased. "But where's the fun in that?"

Iemitsu reached to grip his daughter's shoulder, never breaking his gaze with Xanxus as he kept the girl beside him. He didn't trust any of Xanxus' word, knew better to believe or let himself be pulled into his words.

"We'll do it just like how I did the old man."

Natsume didn't flinch back from her father, though she was surprised as her father's own flames flared. She watched the back and forth banter, knowing that she was in trouble for her hotheadedness, but not really caring at the moment.

When Xanxus took off with a dismissal at Levi, she caught Lighteniing Guardian's resigned look before he and the rest of his group followed suit. A medic was finally coming through, kneeling beside Lambo and taking care of the most important injuries, while the short haired woman's counterparts disappeared.

Natsume breathed deeply, her eyes slipping shut and tried not to wince when the cold muzzle of a gun was held against her head.

"Reborn."

"Do you remember when I told you to control your outbursts?" the click of the safety being taken off seemed to echo in her ear, "That you wouldn't meet someone as nice as me?"

She stayed silent and the gun was pressed harder against her temple, " _I asked a question, Natsume."_

She could feel all the eyes on her, could feel the hot embarrassment creeping up her neck and flushing over her face, making her tanned skin look darker around her cheeks. Keeping her mouth shut against Reborn wasn't a good idea, the hitman wasn't like Kawahira who would shut her up if he didn't like what she was either saying or doing.

"I do."

She continued, the last of her temper flaring, "But frankly I don't care, they hurt _my_ family."Knowing better than to do so, she swatted Reborn's gun away, turning on the ball of her foot to follow the rest of the medic team that had come to get Lambo.

Natsume could feel the hot sting of tears wanting to fall, but she held it back. She was losing her nerve, she needed to breathe and calm down, to focus on Lambo. With little trouble, she smothered her emotions – she was a blank slate and no one will get through her.

It was her brother jerking her back before she boarded the ambulance that got her out of her thoughts. She turned to Tsuna and was consoled at seeing the emotions that were reflected on her brother's face.

"Tsuna," she muttered, her eyes narrowing and zeroing in on how her brother's eyes flickered. She licked her lips, trying to find words to say to her brother, but finding it hard to actually think of anything.

Tsuna pulled her into a tight hug, whispering into her ear, "Are you okay?"

And how many times after fighting off bullies and helping him through his tantrums did she ask him that? Her breath hitched, her eyes tearing up ( _again)_ – which she rubbed at furiously when she heard the others approaching – she only nodded.

"I will get stronger, _I swear it_."

He could see the way his sister's mouth quirked, _knew_ that he had said something that had just made her smile and feel at least better for a second.

"Promise of a life time?"

She held out her pinky and he hooked his around it.

"Believe it."

The goofy – yet sad – look crossed his sister's face as she just shook her head. Tsuna watched as she boarded the ambulance and stood there until he couldn't see the white and red van, it was the light weight that settled on his shoulders that broke him his trance and he turned to his tutor,

"I want to get stronger."

* * *

Iemitsu arrived at the hospital at the same time his wife had, he had called in for a flight to head to Italy and would be leaving within the next hour. The least he could do was make sure that the young child he had chosen was well.

"Iemitsu, what happened?" his wife asked, her eyes red from her crying. The blond ran a hand through his short hair, not knowing how to exactly answer that. Instead he hugged her, resting his chin atop her head.

The two were in the waiting room, ready for the all clear from the doctor that had taken in Lambo.

"I'll make sure that whoever did this faces justice."

Nana sniffled, pulling away to wipe her nose with the handkerchief she had in her hand. She believed her husband would do so, just like had all those years ago when it was her own flesh and blood on the other side of the room.

"Forgive me, Nana, but I have to leave you again," Iemitsu said softly, knowing just how frail his wife was and hating having to leave her in such a state.

"Mama, papa?"

Natsume's voice was either a blessing or a curse, he didn't know yet. Didn't know how to feel about his eldest, especially after seeing her both mouth off to Xanxus and sneak her own way into the battle to protect young Lambo.

He would settle on being proud and completely awed at his child.

The man sat his wife down so that he could speak with his daughter privately. When he looked down at his daughter, he was met with eyes that he was used to seeing reflected in the mirror. He smiled as he pulled her into a hug, not caring that she squirmed against him, though he did let her go quickly.

"What you and your brother did for Lambo was brave."

"Stupid," he heard her sigh, though judging by her expression she would do it again. He sat himself down in a chair, his hand reaching out for his daughter's and he gave it a slight squeeze.

"No, Natsume," he told her, looking her in the eye and giving her his most honest smile. "You may think that, but standing up for someone like that, taking care of others when they can't themselves, protecting them – that's what family is."

"And you should be proud of how far you've come."

Natsume didn't say anything and Iemitsu could only hold her gaze, yet he was surprised when she squeezed his hand back, before she pulled away. He knew she was upset, that she wouldn't be forgiving him any time soon and he completely understood that.

* * *

 **AN:** I feel like I should apologize, but at the same time, I'm just like 'naaahh'. Because I'm inbetween really loving this chapter or wanting to fling it into the hottest of fires.

My fav moment is of course when Natsume indirectly calls Xanxus a fuckass. Seriously. But mister 'i am the boss' is too absolutely fucking stoked to really care what she says, especially since he can always have her killled/hurt so that whatever wounded ego feels better. Ahhh, I should probably start writing in notes about what I wanted to explain and talk about, but its midnight I've been proofreading this for like ever and my eyes are tired and mind just wants to chill and not be near the hot laptop.

Questions, concerns, criticism (i always have trouble spelling this word), let me know.

Shoot a review, but don't hate me.

More thoughts: I feel like Iemitsu really does try to be there for his family and he absolutely regrets missing out on so much. So he completely understands why his children react to him the way they do, even if it seems like he's trying to push it off as something else (ie: tsuna's growing through puberty). He's a proud papa to see how strongly his children reacted, to see Tsuna's and Natsume's power flare and work together to protect one of their own, it was probably beautiful to him, because what he felt was so _pure, so honest,_ it was completely different from what he usually experiences.

Yeah, before this gets longer than the actual chapter.

Until next time~

 _Sorugao_


	12. X

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

 **Edited: 7/24/16**

* * *

Though she hadn't wanted to leave her mother alone, Nana had managed to convince Natsume to go home. It helped Nana's case when Bianchi showed up ( _where the woman had been, Natsume had no clue, but she wasn't about to fight against her_ ) and told the younger girl to go on home and rest. The teen at least felt a little better leaving her mother in the Poison Scorpion's capable hands – the woman had a better idea of what had truly happened and had probably showed up on Reborn's behalf.

Which was nice of the little demon spawn, but that still didn't soothe Natsume's anger. Even if it hadn't been Reborn's idea to throw Lambo in the fight last night, he had still allowed it to happen ( _but so had she, so why was she just blaming others?_ ).

Last night was only the warning alarm; the next time Natsume lost her cool she was going to be the Tsunami that came in and ravaged anyone that got in her way.

* * *

 _xxv_

 _When I got home that night – or was it early morning? – my head hit the pillow and I was out_

 _I wasn't immersed in dreams or a simple darkness in which I can just lose myself in. Jasmine came like a ghost revisiting its previous haunts, her memories along with it. And even though I was terrified, because I knew and I didn't, I let what she knew settle in my mind._

 _It was vague now, not as clear as it used to be but the fighting was happening just like how that story the other woman - me? - knew._

 _Then_ she _reached out behind her and grazed my arm before I could see anymore, because as soon as she touched me her pain came through. I screamed and pulled away from her, my hands coming up to my head, trying to stop the pain and bleeding that I_ knew _wasn't there._

 _I woke up after that, breathing heavily and wiping my hands down on the thin blanket that was wrapped around my legs. When I pulled my hands up to see if there was anything left, they were as clean as they could have been._

 _I was left gasping, blinking the tears away from my eyes while trying to ignore how the shadows played over my hands, darkening over my palms and making it seem as if blood was dripping down them._

* * *

 **0632**

Natsume was up and out of the house before Tsuna.

She walked the streets of Namimori, enjoying the calm of the small town. The air was crisp after last night's storm and it just made it feel more like autumn. It also made it seem like what had happened the night before hadn't happened – but she knew that Nana was still at the hospital, knew that Lambo was still hooked up to machines to make it easier on his body.

The fourteen year old frowned, could feel a tinge of embarrassment over her actions last night, but not at all regretting her reactions.

She may have the mind of another girl-woman in her head, had experiences that no one else had ( _except perhaps Mukuro, but he was_ special _in a way that she wasn't_ ). Though Natsume tried to keep her away, she wasn't too keen on feeling the pain or loneliness that the other one knew.

 _(Didn't want to know how much more she and her brother would have to struggle_ , _because there was a story and almost everything lined up.)_

Everything but her.

And she realized that, when she actually reached out for Jasmine instead of pushing her away.

Nana wasn't the mother she had ( _her Nana made Hawaiian treats, told stories of cousins that would rumble, would hum and listen to their words, was willing to give them her best, and so much more)._ Tsuna wasn't useless ( _her Tsuna just needed to be motivated, needed to be poked and pushed around, Tsuna was lazy, but he wasn't a total loss like that story made him seem._ )

And she – she shouldn't exist ( _she had every right though, life happened and twisted itself and did things that no one would understand_ ) – but she did and there were differences.

Gokudera saw Tsuna as his friend before his boss, Yamamoto _knew_ he had friends he could rely on, that didn't see him as a winning ticket and Lambo had someone that actually listened to him. Kyoko, Hana, and Haru – Natsume paused, both in her thoughts and in her steps and looked up at the sky.

Those girls deserved the truth as much as Nana did and just as she had helped and prodded Tsuna along ( _long before Reborn showed up_ ) she would make her brother see that just because he didn't want someone getting involved, _it was too late._ They all were involved and could be used against him.

She continued walking; belatedly realizing that she was nowhere near Nami-chuu and near the shopping district. She dithered between heading back the way she came and towards the school or just cutting class and hanging out in Kawahira's antique shop.

She ruffled through her bag, searching for her phone only to realize that Tsuna still had it. With no watch of her own and no phone, Natsume sat herself at one of the benches near the coffee shop she usually frequented with her friends and waited for the shops to open up.

It was too early to surprise Kawahira, even if he probably already knew she was there, and it was also too early to deal with him.

So she would wait for the coffee shop to open, get herself one of the new drinks they were advertising ( _what did a pumpkin spice latte taste like?_ ) and would offer up a sweet morsel to Kawahira if he tried to send her away.

Drumming her fingers against her thigh, Natsume let herself enjoy the rest of the sunrise, watched how the pinks and oranges and reds of the sky burned away before revealing a pretty blue, streaked with clouds that hid the sun, but glowed because of its warmth.

* * *

Reborn watched as Tsuna and Basil fought against each other.

He would like to think himself right when he noticed the amount of potential Tsuna had – that _both_ of the siblings had – and went about a way to make sure that potential was reached. Sometimes it took a harsh hand to move Tsuna forward, other times it was just a simple encouragement and a _need_ that arose in the boy.

It would have been nice to bring Natsume along, to see how she fared against a boy trained up by her own father and one that he had been training himself. He would like to think that whoever taught the girl was at least capable of instilling a sense of self-preservation in her ( _because last night he feared what would have become of her if Xanxus hadn't been in a better mood)_.

Perhaps some other day he would be able to see how far Natsume has come under her mysterious teacher, perhaps he could even find out who the hell it was ( _because so far nothing came up_ ).

Right now of course he had to put that aside and focus on the spar before him.

He had to make sure Tsuna was ready for what was to come, because Xanxus was a completely different beast to deal with and it would either make or break Vongola when that battle came about.

* * *

Kawahira sneezed, a little surprised at the sudden urge to do so. The white haired man pulled out a handkerchief from one of his robes pockets and wiped his nose with it, completely ignoring the deadpan look of the girl before him.

"Kawahira-san?"

She only used his name when they were out in the shop in case anyone that she might know came in – she had already brought those boys with her and they had an idea of one of the places she liked to come to. Also that cute little arcobaleno had been around to watch them that time and Kawahira was oddly surprised that Reborn hadn't come in to check the shop out himself.

Though now that he thought about it, perhaps one day Reborn would show up, how did that saying go, speak of the devil and he shall appear?

"Lost in your thoughts old man?"

A breath of air escaped Kawahira, one that Natsume assumed to be a breathless laugh. The older man shook his head, not even bothering to give the younger girl a glance as she resumed sorting through some of the new crystals he had come by. He belatedly wondered how exactly Wonomichi came upon certain items, but realized with the younger man's cheerful – almost childish like demeanor – he wouldn't get anything out of him.

Pushing his assistant out of his thoughts, he focused back on the sandy haired girl before him, who was looking between two crystals.

"Those won't help you much," one was thought to help strengthen compassion, while the other strengthened magic and at the moment he would prefer she didn't rely on such things. "And you probably can't afford them."

There was a noise that she made and he clearly saw her roll her eyes at him, but he chose to ignore it and just watched her put the crystals back where she had picked them up from.

Recently she only got certain crystals because it was pretty or to gift to someone.

Kawahira leaned against the counter, his hand coming up to rest his chin in his palm and he gave the teen a once over before looking away. She was going to be turning fifteen soon and to think her (and by extension her brother) day of birth was going to be overshadowed by these battles; well it was kind of saddening. She was still a child who deserved to enjoy her youth, yet here she was learning how to fight and control a power that should have never been passed on to her people.

Not that it mattered to him, all he was there for was to keep the balance and make sure everything was well. A thought occurred to him and he broke the silence that had fallen between the two in the last couple minutes.

"How does your sky come along, Natsume?" He noticed how she froze for a split second before recovering. With her hands behind her back the girl turned to him and offered him a cutesy, yet very sheepish smile.

It always happened when a person had the ability to summon different flames, they tended to over focus on the one that came easily and left the second behind to become nothing. He knew she had already messed with both her sky and mist flames, but the only one that continued to grow strong was her mist.

He tsk'ed, shaking his head side to side in disapproval. With another soft sound escaping him, he gestured with his head towards the door that led to the backroom and into his home. Though there was a slight slump to her shoulders, there was a gleam of interest as she passed by him and went through the beaded curtain that separated the shop and his home.

Kawahira had noticed – and knew – that the girl was a little low in spirits, so perhaps going over previous lessons that she could apply to her second flame would bring her mood up?

* * *

It was a surprise for Shamal to see Hayato come so far in such a short time. In truth he was hoping that it would be harder for Hayato to understand exactly what he was trying to teach him. A wry smile quirked his lips as he tilted his head forward, his hair coming forward and hiding his features in shadow.

As hotheaded and explosive Hayato used to be, he was calmer now. Sure he could rage with the best of them, but he seemed calm, like he understood what was at stake. It was something Shamal had only begun to notice after Reborn had informed him of the Kokuyo Incident.

And it was why this time around when Hayato had asked for his help, Shamal gave in.

He could tell that the kid that was willing to throw himself into danger without concern for his wellbeing was growing up.

Shamal shook his head, a soft breath of laughter escaping as he peeked at Hayato who sat across the room from him. The kid should have known better than to be smoking, but it soothed his nerves, though he didn't stop fidgeting with one of the rings he had on his hand.

There was a glimmer as the small stone on the thick band caught the light and something about it called out to Shamal.

With an exaggerated sigh, Shamal pushed himself up, raising his hands above his head as he stretched.

"Yo Hayato, how about one more run through?"

The nervous smirk the kid gave him, made Shamal want to reach out and ruffle his hair in order to comfort him. He knew better though, Hayato had always hated being treated his age, had always wanted to be taken seriously and as Shamal watched him rise, putting out his cigarette in the ash tray nearby, he understood that that was all Hayato needed to truly grow.

' _Seems like coming to this small town helped him grow a lot more.'_

* * *

When the battle begun, Gokudera had begun it with confidence. So far he had managed to avoid Belphegor's knives, but understanding just how they were finding him so easily after he had tried to hide away was irking him.

' _Relax, don't let him rile you up.'_

The voice was familiar, it was soothing and edging away the nerves that had started to build up. Gokudera grit his teeth as he rolled away, he was a second too late in dodging as one of the knives dug into his shoulder and the other nicked open his cheek.

' _You have to focus on what is in front of you and what you expect for it to sound like. What is he doing, how is he doing it? Watch him carefully.'_

Gokudera watched with narrowed eyes as Belphegor gave him a rather bloodthirsty smile, pulling out a hand full of knives and getting ready to throw it at him. He couldn't just throw it straight like that, could he? The wind turbines were acting up whenever they wanted, so how -

The silver haired teen cursed and managed to avoid the horde of knives that had been sent his way, using one of the anatomy figures that had been blown out of the classroom and had lain near his feet. There was a tense silence as the wind died down and Gokudera chose that moment to act.

He threw bombs out at Belphegor, who made a comment about how useless it was only for the bombs to end up right in his face before they went off.

Gokudera smirked, _finally._

' _Don't relax, it's too early-'_

He was drawn from the voice by the maniacal laughter that came from the wounded Varia member. It chilled Gokudera to hear the insanity as the named prince crowed in absolute cheer about seeing his blood. Something had changed within the blond and he had to get away.

There was a stinging pain at his back when he turned and took off down the hall, he ignored it and pushed on. Ducking into the library he began to place bombs around certain aisles until he kept himself hidden in one of the corners of the room, where he had a clear view and could see when exactly the Varia member would enter.

"Shishishi~ Hide and seek? My favorite game~"

The creepy laughter that followed didn't soothe Gokudera, is body tensing up in preparation. Gokudera flicked a two miniature bombs from his wrist holders into his hand and palmed them as he waited for the blond to creep closer.

"I almost found you~ I can practically feel your end at my hands~"

There was a high pitched whistle as knives were thrown and Gokudera barely had time to duck and move away from his spot to avoid the sharp weapons. There was a high whirring sound and a gust a wind at his back that barely missed him and took out the spot he had been standing in before. Followed by it was another stinging pain and Gokudera cursed.

' _What will you do?'_

"How?" he whispered as he used the aisle of book cases as cover . He didn't get much of a chance to think as Belphegor's voice spoke up again.

"Shishi~ Found you~"

The aisle of books toppled over as Belphegor pushed it over to try to crush him. The edge of the book case clipped his shoulder, an odd sound accompanying the pain that sprung up. Hissing quietly in pain, Gokudera lumbered back, keeping his eyes on Belphegor's approaching form.

"Caught like a rat," the blond chirped crazily, his laughter in-between the words slurring everything together. "Time to see you bleed~"

Belphegor threw his knives at the same time Gokudera flung his mini dynamites, the explosion that followed threw the silver haired teen against the wall, while his opponent's weapons were scattered. There was a snort as Belphegor straightened up, staring around at where his weapons had fallen.

The smile the proclaimed Prince sported was toothy as he raised his hands, his fingers twitching and with that the knives that had fallen away sprung up from the ground and aimed themselves at him.

"Too bad~"

' _What will you do? Your set up is null, you'll only cave yourself in if you detonate the rest.'_

" **Four minutes remain**."

There was the feeling of Belphegor rolling his eyes and Gokudera gulped, keeping his eyes on the blond while trying to see what he could do at the last minute.

' _Don't be stupid –'_

With a last burst of strength, Gokudera pushed off from the wall before Belphegor could fling his weapons. The teen flicked his wrists once more, showing that he had more than enough dynamite on him to continue blowing away at the Prince.

" **Two minutes remain.** "

The wires that had held the knives up went slack as Belphegor fell backwards and Gokudera felt the comings of triumph. He approached Belphegor's form carefully and as he reached down to grab at the ring that laid on the blond's chest, a hand gripped at his wrist, pulling him forward, his face barely brushing against Belphegor's.

"You - !" Gokudera was cut off as Belphegor slashed at him with his other hand, one last blade held tightly in his grip as he tried to cut up Gokudera's face. The silver haired teen barley managed to grab his hand in time, the blade's tip inches away from piercing his throat.

" **One minute remains.** "

' _Back away.'_

"No," Gokudera growled out, his normally jade green eyes clouding up with red as he tried to keep the Varia member from marring his face. As the seconds were counted down it was becoming obvious that he and Belphegor would end in a stalemate.

Gokudera was aching, his one good arm barely keeping away the knife, while the other was held in the others grasp and being pulled at. Belphegor was just as a bloody and hurt as he was, but he was mad with the pain and whatever euphoric state he was in.

With a bitter taste in his mouth, Gokudera pulled back, letting go of Belphegor who turned on his side and tried to keep him in his reach. Gokudera's hand froze as his left hand clasped around the ring around his neck, before he tugged it off and threw at the Varia member, who was stunned for a second.

'… _..Thank you.'_

It was as he was exiting the library that the others caught up with him, Tsuna nearly barreling into him, eyes wide as he took in Gokudera's state. There was relief on the young teen's face, one that had Gokudera looking away, a light blush dusting his cheeks in embarrassment.

He bit his lower lip as he brought his gaze back up and caught Shamal's eye, who gave him a nod of approval.

Perhaps he could have held on for a while longer, perhaps the building would have collapsed and taken him and blond to their deaths. There were what ifs and various scenarios playing in his mind, but Gokudera knew that dying wasn't an option.

Not anymore.

* * *

Natsume jerked up blinking sleepy eyes at Nana who let her pull away, yet kept a hand on the girls back.

"You know you don't have to be here with me, Tsu-chan," Nana said quietly to her daughter, who leaned back against her, resting her head against her shoulder. With a shake of her head, the brunette woman moved the hand at her daughter's back and began to thread it through her hair. "My, my, it's gotten plenty long now, hasn't it?"

Natsume gave a sleepy nod, "You should cut it for me, mam." A yawn escaped the girl, which she covered with the back of her hand. "Has the sensei said anything about him waking up?"

There was a soft sound that Nana emitted, her fingers still trailing through the thick hair of her daughter's.

"He should be waking up soon, whatever they did to Lambo-kun," Nana swallowed, her eyes tearing up again, "Absolutely horrendous."

Her mother's lips were pulled into a thin line and Natsume could see the flare of anger in Nana's usually warm brown eyes.

"What mama?"

Her mother only shook her head, her lips pursing at whatever thought cross her mind, " _Sometimes I wish I was back home, things like this wouldn't happen."_ Nana's accented English was always something Natsume loved listening too; it was so different from her own and would remind her of her mother's origins.

Natsume could only hum in response, her lips pursing and eyes slipping shut once again. She was half asleep when she heard Tsuna's voice greet their mother; she stirred once more, scooting over so that her twin could sit down beside her.

Who sat himself atop of her, while whoever else accompanied him in the room went to get another chair. There was a quiet struggle between the twins as Natsume tried to get Tsuna sit beside her and said boy resisted being shoved around. It was a rather odd scene to come upon and Dino couldn't help the smile at seeing the two act their age for once.

Reborn on the other hand wasn't impressed.

Natsume rubbed her forehead, while Tsuna held his face in his hands, a red mark beginning to appear after being swatted around by the tiny hitman.

"You two should behave, this is a hospital and some people want to die in peace."

"That's not cool," Natsume commented, voice pitched a little high as she was stuck between hysterical laughter and pain. Reborn only stared the girl down from where he had already sat himself in Nana's lap, who stared back defiantly. As she was locked in a staring contest with Reborn, she told Tsuna, "Oh yeah, Kyoko came by earlier, she brought notes for whatever we did in class today."

Sticking out her tongue, she broke eye contact with the hitman and turned back to Tsuna who was looking at Lambo's prone form. There was a hardness in Tsuna's gaze, even in the way he held himself at the moment and she knew he would keep his word and do much more ( _she had an idea already of what was going to happen, but that still didn't soothe her and instead left her with a bitter feeling in her gut_.)

Nana seemed to notice the slight tension and cast them a curious gaze, to which Natsume responded with a shrug. Not liking the suddenly heavy silence, Natsume looked over at Dino who had brought a chair up beside hers and seemed to relax in his chair, judging by the pained grimace there was more to the scrapes and bruises on the young Don's face.

So she decided to comment on it, "Dino-san, why does it look like you were mauled by a wild animal?" The blond man didn't bat an eye, instead finding her description of his injuries pretty accurate, but for the Sawada Matriarch's sake, he put on a sheepish expression, one that he knew didn't fool the young teen judging by the unimpressed look she sent him.

"Oh you know Enzo, slipped and fell in the tub and got kind of snappy," he finished off lamely, hand coming up to rub the back of his head. There was a snicker that escaped Natsume when Tsuna whispered in her ear what Dino had been up too.

"I'm telling him you compared him to a snapping turtle."

It took a second, but it clicked in Dino's tired mind and he tried to plead with the eldest of the Sawada twins to not do that – Kyoya was vicious in a regular situation, he couldn't imagine what a truly pissed off Kyoya would do ( _he had already caught a glimpse of it when he came upon some of the Varia's guards completely bloody and out of commission when the prefect had made his way towards Nami-chuu_ ).

The blond hung his head and just shook, though if he had looked up and caught the amused smirk on the girl's face, he would have known that she wouldn't sell him out so quickly.

* * *

 **AN:** This isn't my best chapter and please forgive me if its so short. I'm leaving tonight for about three weeks and I won't be able to take my laptop or anything with me, so I decided to leave you guys with this. When I come back, I'll look through this again and fix some of the spots that I have issues with.

That's that, so the response for the last chapter was absolutely amazing! Thank you all for your kind words and comments, they really motivate me to do better. Don't ever hesitate to point out or question things about my chapters/writing, I like knowing what I can do better or being told of a problem spot. So continue on guys!

This chapter, Natsume's a little different from how she ended the last, the last she was angry/upset, we saw her lose her cool and for once be a rash kid. We still see that she has issues with accepting her past life and is actually trying to accept a dead girl-woman's memories (Jasmine was about 18-19 years old when she died - 21 being the oldest).

The ending is a little more light hearted, because I want to show that even through all this - the twins do things to cheer each other up (Tsuna can pick up on his sisters moods, even more so now that he's embracing his intuition, Natsume doesn't like seeing the heaviness? in Tsuna's eye). I just try to show that they're really close even though they have their own ups and downs.

Ah, questions shoot if you have any. I know this is all rushed and short, but like i said I didn't wanna leave you guys hangin'.

I'll see you guys in about a month or so?

 _Sorugao_


	13. XI

**AN:** Guess who is back? Not me. Not at all. Also I think I may have lost my way here.

The Jurassic Park theme is giving me hope of finding my way, so we'll see.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or stuff.**

* * *

Shamal had taken Gokudera aside, had promised to call him when he was done patching up the silver haired teen leaving Tsuna to have some time to visit Lambo. His visit with Lambo was short, Reborn had told him to get some rest and so the brunet bid his mother and sister goodnight.

These battles were exhausting, both physically and mentally.

Reborn pushed him as hard as he could go and Tsuna gave as much as he could. Poor Basil – the fair haired teen didn't deserve to have all of Tsuna's brunt force, all of his feelings on the current situation directed at him.

He could almost understand Ryoehi-nii and even Hibari-senpai's need for a good fight. It bled off any frustration he had or it made him focus on something else while he tried to figure a way to deal with whatever was heavy on his mind.

He thought almost, because he didn't like seeing his friends and family have to fight and put up with the current situation.

At first he had been in denial, passively refusing Reborn's words of him being a mafia boss. Lately he had been seeing the mafia for what it was and compared to what his ancestor had truly wanted, it had fallen a long way.

A good boss didn't casually toss his subordinates lives aside –that was what he had been taught by Reborn that _all_ subordinates had a purpose in the famiglia no matter what happened.

The thing was Tsuna wasn't a boss, he was Sawada Tsunayoshi, he had a mother that taught and constantly showed him and his ragtag group of friends care and love (especially when knowing that neither Yamamoto and Gokudera had mothers), accepted them as they all were even if they were all scratched and beat up.

He had a sister that could (and would) stand up against whatever came their way, that made him want to be as headstrong as her when it came to defending the people she cared about.

He had a tutor that was a hell of a task master that wanted him to succeed (and survive) – though that was sometimes hard to see when Reborn literally tried to kill him every other day of the week and _enjoyed it._

He had friends that were willing to put their lives on the line for him, to fight for him and stand with him.

Tsuna almost scoffed as he remembered his sisters words from long ago.

The mafia – Vongola especially – was a mockery of what it had originally stood for. He felt how his flames swelled in his chest, moving and responding to his thoughts, how they became much warmer and easier to take notice of.

A bland smile appeared on his face as his thoughts came to one conclusion, Vongola would have to change. He would have to fight, to sweat, and to bleed for his realization to come true. Vongola would either return to its roots or he would make damn sure that no one else could rule the underworld like Vongola did.

And the very first people to learn of this would be the Varia.

When it came to his battle, Xanxus would feel every bit of his rage, would know the pain Tsuna felt as he watched his _friends_ put their lives on the line for him.

Tsuna's smile sharpened a little more, Reborn noticed it and the arcobaleno noted how the boy looked like his sister in that moment – all sharp eyes and smile. The small hitman felt his chest swell, noting his student's thoughts and though what the boy was thinking could be considered treasonous, the boy wasn't going to be a typical grunt – he was going to be Vongola Decimo.

Reborn smirked, almost happy and completely relieved that Tsuna could be vicious in his own right. Natsume had her temper and her wits, had long ago already cemented herself to watching over her little family and now Tsuna had something that he was willing to stand up to and protect.

* * *

After Tsuna had left, Dino had stayed behind with Natsume and Nana. Lambo should be waking up soon either early morning or later on in the day. What was mostly keeping the young child out was the huge literal shock to his system due to being hit by lightning and the stress of the battle.

Though trained up to be an assassin by the Bovino, the child shouldn't have been allowed to fight nor should he have been picked as a Guardian – sure even as young as he was he had a strong flame, but Iemitsu was wrong in having chosen a child.

Then again everyone currently fighting _was_ a child, the only one over fifteen was Hibari and he was the only one with any true experience in fighting due to his need to have control over any and everything in Namimori.

The blond refrained from making too loud of a sound, his gaze flicking over to mother and daughter. Natsume did her homework in peace, asking her mother a couple questions when it came to certain problems and he saw that for what it was. To take the woman's mind off and having her focus on something else even if it was for a second.

Someone cleared there throat and all three occupants looked up to see who was at the door, a bandaged up Gokudera stood in the doorway a little surprised at the sudden attention, but shrugging it off as he strode into the room.

He took the empty seat that Reborn had been in no more than ten minutes ago and all but sagged in relief.

"Oh, Gokudera," Nana chose this moment to excuse herself, wiggling her eyebrows at her daughter. Judging by the affronted looks both on Natsume's and Gokudera's faces, along with the light blush that appeared on said boy's, Nana was teasing the two.

"Going to the cafeteria Sawada-san?" Dino asked, getting a nod from the woman he stood up and decided to follow her, "May I come along?" Nana regarded him with a rather unusual look, the smile that curled her mouth wasn't fake, but the way her eyes seemed to be judging him made him pause in his steps.

"Of course Dino-kun and please call me Mama."

That left the two teens alone one still blushing and the other one looking unamused by her mother's tone and teasing, "Anyways," Natsume drawled out, picking up her bag from the floor and pulling out a few papers. "I forgot to give these to Tsuna, but these are the notes for the past couple days for your class."

Gokudera nodded slowly as he took the papers and shuffled through them, the Sasagawa girl's neat writing being precise and clear in what the sensei's wanted them to do for the coursework. He really wondered how the block headed boxer had a sister like her when he was such a loud idiot.

"I know you're tired, I didn't mean to give you more work," Natsume said, taking his silence the wrong way, "I just wanted to make sure you had it so you could help the others after this whole mess." Here she gestured with her hand waving it front of her as if she was brushing off a bug.

"I understand, don't worry about it," he told her, careful in shifting around in his seat seeing as some of the knife wounds he had sustained were still susceptible to opening up again.

A nice silence settled over the two, the only sound being Natsume's pencil making its scratching sounds against the paper she was writing on..

"I never did thank you for this, did I?" he flexed the hand that he wore the ring on, knowing that whatever he had been listening to had something to do with it, or he was just going crazy. There was also the possibility of U.M.A's intervening, but that would result in accusing Natsume of being in contact with them and he didn't know how she would respond to that.

"I thought you practically squealing and spinning Tsuna around was it," he had tried to get her in on the spine-breaking hug and though she wouldn't have minded, she wasn't ready to receive the full brunt of Gokudera's love and care for his friends when he was completely happy, shocked or excited (or a mixture of all three).

It had looked like it hurt too.

Said boy had the decency to blush, his lips pursing as he tried to suppress the actual smile that tried to show.

"Well thank you anyways."

"You are very welcome Gokudera."

* * *

"Come one Tsu-chan," said Nana as she coaxed her daughter awake. The girl blinked sleepy eyes at her, groaning sleepily as she sat up on the edge of the extra cot that had been brought into Lambo's room.

Surprisingly the hospital was much more accommodating than she remembered even Namimori General being, small as it may be compared to the other hospital. The staff here was just as professional and a little more understanding of what had happened to Lambo, compared to the time she had taken the twins in to be checked on when they were seven years old.

" _Ane_? Mama?"

The quiet, very croaked sound of Lambo's voice froze the two. Nana put her hands on both of Natsume's shoulders to keep her from rushing to the young boy's side.

"We don't want to overwhelm him, Tsu-chan," her mother said softly as Natsume got up slowly, one of Nana's arms draping itself over both of her shoulders, while her other hand lightly gripped Natsume's wrist. The two walked over to the six year old's bed side and watched as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Mama?"

"Lambo-kun," Nana answered in a quiet voice, leaning over so the boy wouldn't have to turn his head. Lambo coughed, sniffing slightly afterwards as he gave Nana a wobbly smile.

"Mama, Lambo-san had a bad dream."

Letting Nana talk to Lambo, Natsume pressed one of the buttons by the bedside to call one of the nurses on duty.

" _Ane?_ "

The sandy haired changed places with Nana, leaning down like her mother had been. She smiled at the small boy who reached out a shaky hand to her.

"I'm here Lambo," Natsume whispered, carefully grasping the kids hand and letting his fingers lace with hers. " _Ane_ is so happy to see you."

" _Ane_ was amazing in my dream," the boy said, looking a little more awake. "She protected me from the big meanie."

"Oh yeah?"

"Tsu-nii too," Lambo added, his brow wrinkling a little as he thought it over. "Lambo-san is still sleepy."

The door opened and in walked one of the nurses, who had moved to the other side of the bed to check over the clipboard and the vitals being displayed on one of the machines.

"I don't want to see the big meanie again," Lambo muttered, focusing now on Nana, who pursed her lips.

"I'll be here Lambo-kun."

" _Ane?_ "

"I will be here as long as I can."

There was a stiff nod as his eyes slipped shut and Lambo was out like a light. Mother and daughter moved back a little as the nurse checked over Lambo physically, adjusting the mask that had been pushed away by Lambo when he had wiped his nose.

"Sawada-san, if he wakes again do not hesitate to call again," the nurse told Nana, "He woke up much sooner than we thought he would and if he continues to do as he has, he could be discharged within the next two to three days."

"Thank you Akita-san, I'll be sure to do that."

With that said the nurse showed herself out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"You should go get ready for school Tsu-chan," knowing that her daughter was about to protest it, Nana turned and gave her a 'look'. "No Tsu-chan, you can come back after you're let out, but you will be staying at home tonight."

"You too, you have to go home tonight to sleep in your own bed."

"I would prefer to be here for Lambo –"

The hard stare her daughter gave her cut her off, "Mama, Bianchi can come and watch him. I know you want to be here for him, but you also have to take care of yourself and that means going home, actually eating, and resting." There was that stubborn look in her daughter's eye that Nana knew she wouldn't be able to budge.

"Ara, I will call Bianchi," Nana relented, a wry smile appearing on her lips. "My daughter can be so stubborn."

Natsume grinned, leaning forward and kissing her mother's cheek before she turned around and left, " _I get it from my mama._ "

* * *

It was nice to shower in her own bathroom without the light beeping of machines and the weird hospital smell hanging around. Natsume slipped out of the shower, towel wrapped tightly around her body to make sure it wouldn't fall. Making her way out she made a beeline to her room, where she hurriedly put on her uniform.

Zipping up the back of her skirt and smoothing down the front, she realized how much shorter the material had gotten. At nearly fifteen she was about five foot three, compared to the five foot she had been only a year ago. When her body decided to start growing she didn't know, but she wasn't exactly happy about it.

"I hate puberty," she lightly hissed out, deciding to ignore the issue for now and instead focus on the mess of tangles that was her hair. Giving up when her hair didn't look like a rats nest, Natsume took off the hair tie around her wrist and used it to tie up her hair in a low ponytail.

With that done she grabbed her book bag, made sure all her work was there and headed downstairs. She called out a goodbye when she left, the two kids and woman cheerily telling her to have a good day. When she exited the front gate she was a little surprised to find Yamamoto leaning up against the wall, seeming a little startled when she let the gate go and click shut with a slight bang.

"That was my bad," she amended when Yamamoto's light brown eyes focused on her. The tall teen was unusually serious looking, not his usually chirpy morning self, even with the ring battles going on he had always been – light? So she asked him if he was alright.

He gave her a slow nod, "I'm just relaxing."

" _Y'know_ most times people relax in their beds, not in front of other people's homes," she said slowly, noting the way he was tensing up. "But if hanging around relaxes you, I'm cool with that," she told him with a shrug of her shoulder, "I do have to go to school though."

He relaxed, almost slumping forward as he pushed himself off the wall and offered a cheery smile, "I'll walkwith you."

"Ay, ay," she began to walk, Yamamoto matching her pace as he walked alongside her. "So tell me," she spoke up after a couple minutes, when she could tell that Yamamoto wasn't thinking too hard and just enjoying the morning walk. "How are you feeling?"

There was a hum from the taller teen and Natsume wondered if he understood that she was asking about _him_ and not about the ring battles.

"A little nervous," he answered slowly, his hands slipping into his pants pockets, "But I'm actually looking forward to tonight."

It was that competitive streak that Yamamoto got when he was playing baseball and sometimes got with Gokudera when one was trying to prove a point to the other.

"That's happening again," she deadpanned, "How exciting." Yamamoto rolled his eyes, knowing from Lambo's fight how the eldest Sawada felt about everything going on.

"You'll be there right?"

They were near the school gates, Yamamoto stopped walking when Natsume halted. The girl had an odd expression before she gave him a half smile, "I thought no outsiders were allowed."

"Does it matter?"

Her smile widened and she gave him a sharp, cat-like smile, "I never knew you for breaking the rules."

The baseball player only raised his brow, insisting for a straight answer out of the teen before him. To which she rolled her eyes at him and patted him against his shoulder before she continued on towards the front gates.

"I'll see if Emi wants to go on a late night walk."

Well, it wasn't a no.

"Also Yamamoto, you _are_ breaking the rules, you should go home before Hibari-san finds you."

The dark haired teen chuckled a little nervously, knowing exactly how Hibari felt about rule breakers. Adding in the constant damage the school was getting and how _pissed_ the prefect was last night, Yamamoto definitely did not want to get caught.

Turning on the ball of his foot and he began jogging the way he came and headed towards his old man's dojo. He had almost a whole day in front of him; some light activity should get the nervous energy that he could feel building up.

And if not, well perhaps his old man could offer him some last minute pointers

* * *

School was the usual, minus the fact that Kim-sensei had asked her once more to be a tutor, which she politely declined. With a sigh the sandy haired teen pulled on her shoes, having already shut away the school ones she used in her locker.

Kyoko had been telling her to join a club lately, that it would look better and perhaps would get the English teacher off her case. Which would probably work, but what could she possibly join for a club? She got along with her classmates now that everyone had gotten the hint (it was probably her brother's constant hanging around Gokudera and Yamamoto that got the others off his case) to stop clowning on Tsuna and her.

It may also be thathis ability to actually keep up and do decently well in any of the sports activities they had to do in P.E.

She left the school, her feet subconsciously taking the path home as she thought about what she could do.

She enjoyed cooking with her mother, didn't mind helping the children with whatever Nana set them up with. She liked going to the beach and living in the water until it was time to go, not that she was going to go up to the Swim Club and ask to join.

Something that she could do with her friends that wasn't eating, browsing through the stores or drinking coffee – Haru had a thing where she liked making costumes, Hana was in one of the book clubs and in the archery club, and Kyoko was a complete monster in that she was in various clubs that even Natsume couldn't keep track of them (it was only four of them, but really who was counting when Kyoko began listing them?).

Dancing was a thing she liked doing right?

If not her the other her.

Wasn't her past life a little geek in music? Interesting it may be to do, she was not about to learn something completely new just for the sake of getting into a club.

Could she go around saying she was good swinging around a staff?

"I can probably be a decent flag twirler," she muttered to herself, crossing the street on habit as she approached the house with the Chihuahua (the _demon_ dog as Tsuna put it) that was usually unleashed decided to not slip out and nip at her heels.

"Speak up Natsume, some of us can't hear your thoughts."

She almost froze in mid-step but having a small hitman try his best (and succeed) in sneaking up on you wore off after a while.

"I'm wondering what club I should join so Kim-sensei can stop asking me to tutor."

The tiny babe hid a smile of approval, jumping down from the top of the wall he had been walking along and landing right on Natsume's shoulder.

"You know that's uncomfortable," she remarked at him reaching up so she could carry him in her arms, which he let happen. Nothing much was said after that, not until they reached the Sawada household and Reborn got out of her hold.

Raising a brow, Natsume reached out to open the gate all the way keeping her attention on Reborn. The hitman pulled down the brim of his fedora making it cast a shadow on the upper half of his face.

"I've heard the idiot cow is getting better."

Bringing up Lambo was rarely a thing Reborn did unless the boy was actually there and he was about to explain _why_ what Lambo was doing was completely wrong and stupid. Then again anything that went up against Reborn ended up being wrong and stupid.

There was a beat of silence that she would have appreciated if it continued on because the way Reborn's mouth twisted did not soothe her. _At all._

"It's come to my attention that my sessions have been amiss, after all this is over, you'll be joining in on Tsuna's one on one lessons. We wouldn't want a repeat of the other night to happen again, would we?"

Something cold settled in her stomach and Natsume wondered why Reborn decided to ask about Lambo if this was what he had really been wanting to talk about.

"We can also bring in the others and have it made into a club that is by invitation only," Reborn's shadow wavered for a second, but it stayed its regular size even though it didn't soothe the teen at all. Reborn looked up and the girl felt absolute dread.

"S-sure." She hadn't meant to stutter but really Reborn could be absolutely intimidating when he felt like it, perhaps Dino had a right to say that the hitman was ' _fucking downright terrifying'._

The cute peace sign he threw up as he began to toddle away did nothing to make her feel peaceful.

Kawahira had merely clucked his tongue when she told him (after he had told her he knew what she had done) what had happened and told her to figure out how to keep from overreacting. Reborn on the other hand had put a gun to her head and she had pretty much swatted it away.

Now he was going to _fix_ it and he was going to make damn sure she learned _or else._

* * *

The sandy haired teen had gone upstairs and had promptly laid in bed, trying her best to smother herself with her pillows she instead fell asleep. It was only the light knocking on her door that stirred her up. A slight groan escaped her as she got up and answered, barely covering the yawn that escaped her with the back of her hand.

"Natsume."

"Bianchi?" she shook her head slightly in hopes of it waking her up a little more, "What's up?"

"I'm going to be leaving in a bit, will you be here long enough to get the children to bed?"

"Oh yeah, mama's actually coming home tonight right?" from the magenta haired woman's nod, Natsume hummed. "Sweet, I didn't think she'd actually do it." Her mother could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to be.

Even though she was still in her uniform, she was too lazy to change out of it and followed the Italian woman downstairs.

"Your mother is lucky to have someone like you," Bianchi commented as she gathered her hair into a bun when they made their way to the kitchen. Natsume not knowing how to respond only raised her shoulders in a 'what can you do' gesture.

"I guess?"

Gods know that she's caused Nana some of her gray hairs, what with all the fighting she would get into when she was in grade school. Not that she did so willingly, she had said before and was constantly proven right that kids were assholes.

She just had protective streak that had grown wide and any attempt to mock or put down either her brother or talk bad about her mother Natsume squashed down. The pointers that her mother had given her on how best to protect herself hadn't earned her any good points, because then she was able to somewhat properly hold off the idiots that had wanted to get a little physical.

"You watch out for you family in your own way," the older teen said, pulling out a pot and setting it on the stove so she could cook some quick food for the children. That was another thing that the seventeen year old was happy for since coming to Namimori, she could make simple meals without her Poison Cooking getting in the way. "It's very admirable."

"Thank you?"

Bianchi smiled, turning on the stove as she began to pull things out of the fridge while the pot heated up. "I'm going to get this started; you can make sure it doesn't burn right?"

"Why Bianchi, I thought you knew I am absolutely fantastic at burning water."

The magenta haired woman laughed, rolling her eyes at the teen's humor. Natsume excused herself for a quick moment, saying that she was going to change out of her uniform and by the time she got back downstairs, Bianchi had already chopped and thrown in the onions, followed by the sliced pieces of meat.

"Gyudon?"

The Italian woman nodded and moved the pan back and forth so the vegetables she had thrown in cooked all around. She left it to Natsume for the remainder of the time it took to cook, as the woman went about getting ready to leave for the night. Not even twenty minutes later the food was done and Natsume had packed up some food for Bianchi.

"Take care Natsume."

"Bye Bianchi, be safe."

Natsume stayed leaning against the door, enjoying the slight breeze that began. It was fresh at the current moment, compared to earlier when it had gotten all hot and humid – being out on the track with her class today had not been fun, not that said class ever was.

A car pulled up, one that looked oddly familiar. The passenger window rolled down just as the door in the back opened and out came Nana. It was the brunet man she happened to meet every time Dino happened to be in town, she waved at Leonardo, the fair haired man flicking a two finger salute at her back.

Once Nana walked in, the Italian man drove off and the two closed the door behind them.

"Bianchi made gyudon mama, if you're hungry."

The brunette woman nodded, a little taken back at the reception she got when Fuuta and I-pin rushed up to her and wrapped their arms around her legs. The tanned woman chuckled, her hands resting on each child's head respectively.

"Hello you two," Nana smiled, even though it was obvious how tired she was. Natsume went on ahead and began to set the table as Nana was asked by I-pin how Lambo was. Fuuta only looked over at the woman, a whisper niggling in the back of his mind. "Lambo-kun has gotten better, he'll be coming home in a few days."

The nine year old noted how exhausted Tsuna-nii's mother was, could tell how emotionally spent she was because of what happened to Lambo and because the woman sensed something else was going on. Ranked as one of the most understanding mother's, Sawada Nana would wait until either her children or her husband were ready to tell her what was happening.

Fuuta hoped it was soon, because he didn't like seeing Nana constantly worrying and wondering what on earth was happening. It wasn't his place to tell, so he could only hope either Tsuna-nii or Natsume did it, because if it was left up to Iemitsu, the man would continue to hide it from his wife even as he dragged his children into the Mafia.

* * *

It was fifteen minutes before eleven when Yamamoto and the others showed up to the fighting grounds. Wisely he ignored the blood thirsty grin that was cast his way, offering up a cheery smile to the other team and hoping his boyish (if a little silly) charm threw the other man off.

The long haired man's smile only got creepier.

Yamamoto would have shivered if it wasn't for the soft cry of a cat, the slight pain of claws digging into his back, and a weight settling on his shoulder.

"Is that –"

Tsuna barely refrained from burying his face in his hands and was proud that he hadn't flinched when an arm flung itself around his shoulder and brought him up against who he assumed was his sister. Peeking through his fingers, he was right. He had thought she would have only come for Lambo's fight, yet unbeknownst to him (and everybody else, including Reborn) she had been spying on them since their training had started.

"Emi wanted to go on a walk, she was rather insistent."

Said cat, who seemed to have understood what its owner said, blinked its amber eyes at Natsume from where she was now cuddled up against Yamamoto's chest, who completely ignored the cats judgmental look. The baseball player seemed a little more relaxed for some odd reason.

"The whole gang's here," Yamamoto chirped as he handed the black cat over to her owner. Watching the little byplay between owner and pet, was a little amusing, especially by the exasperated expression on Natsume's face when the cat perched itself on her shoulder.

"VVVOOOIII! ARE YOU READY TRASH?"

The group of teenagers stared at the loud man – Basil refused to fidget around, Gokudera merely frowned, and Ryohei only slapped Yamamoto on the back as if saying he was with him. Tsuna flicked his eyes from the swordsman to his friend, who was smirking.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Natsume eyed this all, head dipping down a little, her bangs shadowing her eyes.

When the Cervello popped up and began to lead the group to Building B, they all followed. The building they were led into had Natsume whistling in surprise, she was more curious on how they did such drastic changes to the school without any sign showing that there had been fighting there the following day.

She didn't really listen as the fighting area was explained, instead looking around and letting the boys have their moment together. The area was perhaps one of the worst places for anyone to fight in – water everywhere and with it constantly rising, any surface that they would have had a chance to fight over would soon be covered up.

"Will the Guardians of the Rain please gather in the center, everyone else please find your way out."

A hand landed on the shoulder that wasn't taken up by her cat and she looked up. Yamamoto nodded at her and she did the same back.

"No matter what you come back kicking" she all but ordered him, reaching for him and digging her knuckles into his side. The teen gave her a lopsided smile, his fingers squeezing her shoulder before letting go. With a deep breath, Yamamoto walked towards the center of the building while they exited.

It was Tsuna who came up to her, his eyes on her.

"Tsume…"

"Hmm?"

"What was that?"

Tsuna had noticed when he felt something going on between Yamamoto and his sister and he was curious to know exactly what it was. The girl crossed her arms, eyes squinting as she gave him a fake, closed mouth smile.

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Do you like Yamamoto, is that why you did that?" he was curious and maybe that was it? The young Sawada didn't really know how people displayed affection for one another, but maybe that was it. Judging by the affronted look on his sister's face, he was either right or wrong.

Something was telling him he was wrong.

"I jinxed him."

 _What._

The evil eye he got was also telling him to not push it.

At least for now.

Reborn only pretended he wasn't listening in and was curious himself to find out what Natsume meant. He caught up quickly with the others who had pulled ahead of the siblings. When they finally stepped into the designated spectator's box, the Cerevello had finished telling the two participants the rules and what was to be expected.

"Now for the Ring of Rain: Superbi Squalo versus Yamamoto Takeshi – let the battle begin!"

* * *

Yamamoto breathed heavily.

The match had been going so well. His left hand was shaking, he couldn't bring it to hold his sword, the cut across his stomach and the one going down his front were starting burn worse the more drenched in water he got.

It hurt getting up from where he had laid, eyes narrowed as he stared up at Squalo.

' _Autumn Rain?_ ' he had no clue what the swordsman was talking about, but he knew he wasn't losing, not yet. All he had to do was focus now and get his left hand to move along properly so he could prove that he was good and not at all the worthless idiot the long haired man tried to make him feel like.

Calm settled over him as he stood up once more, legs actually supporting him instead of giving out on him like they had the first time he tried to get up after Squalo's final attack. He gave a shuddering breath and forced himself up, jumping up to meet the swordsman one last time.

Squalo heard the kid get up and while he wasn't at all impressed with him, he would give the brat points for being stubborn about it.

Not that that would help him now.

He should have just stayed lying down, now he was definitely going to die by his hand only to make sure the brat wouldn't be getting up again.

"Fine! Let's go brat!"

' _Pouring Rain.'_

The move got Squalo by surprise as his Autumn Rain was taken down by the kid. It was the silver haired man's turn to breath heavily, a weird smile spreading over his features as he watched the kid settle int another pose.

"Swinging that around like a bat won't help you kid," he pushed himself up, now completely serious as he brought his sword up. "I'll fucking show you how it's done!"

' _Scontro di Squalo.'_

Yamamoto waited and as the wall of water and pure power descended upon him, he moved. The bamboo sword changed once more as he brought up his own wave of water, one that arced over him. He moved quickly enough to get out of the way, not noticing the way the blue flames lit and made him appear fuzzy.

He watched as Squalo slashed behind him and he took the chance to attack him from his side.

The man's surprised look wasn't something he wanted to see as he cut him down, but it was the only way to end this. Squalo fell face first into the water, barely maneuvering his body so that he wouldn't drown. Silver eyes watched as the brat before him reached and unclasped the chain around his neck and joined the two ring halves.

"Match over: Yamamoto Takeshi is the winner."

Squalo snorted, ignoring the way his nose burned as he inhaled water afterwards. By the way his stump ached, he didn't dare wonder how Xanxus was feeling – if anything the bastard was probably a little too pleased at him having lost.

* * *

The little flame she had touched Yamamoto with was fading away and soon the boy's consciousness would go with it. Natsume turned away, her brows scrunching up as she felt a familiar presence, she didn't notice Reborn's smirk that he quickly hid away behind his hand.

The collective shouts that came from the boys around her had her looking over her shoulder up at the screen to watch as the Varia's Rain was engulfed by a shark.

She swallowed, disgust welling in her and a little urge to vomit.

That was horrendous; did these people seriously not give a damn about each other? She already knew the question to that what with having seen the Sun Guardian nearly killed off, the way the Lightening Guardian was written off after he had won (even if it was against a five year old). She couldn't really speak for the Storm Guardian, the boy was completely insane.

Yamamoto had made his way to them, limping as the last bit of Natsume's flame that encouraged his body to continue on faded away. She would feel bad about that later, knowing that the way the teen had moved would have aggravated his injuries much more especially since he couldn't really feel them once her 'jinx' took effect.

* * *

Sometimes she was happy that school on Saturday's were only half days. Most of the time she wondered _why_ they had school on a Saturday even though she had long ago come to terms with it.

Well at least it was Saturday and school was over.

She could go off and do as she pleased and didn't have to worry about anything school related until Sunday night.

For now she could go visit Lambo and check in to see if Yamamoto was still wrapped up like a mummy.

"Natsume!"

Kyoko's voice had her looking over her shoulder, the girl was running after her and Natsume waited for her to catch up. The auburn haired girl was breathing rather heavily, though once she straightened up the girl was giving her a very determined look.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure?"

"What's really going on at those meetings my brother goes to at night?"

Oh.

 _No._

Would it come up to her to break the news to her friend that her brother had unknowingly been chosen to be a part of a mafia group. The boxer seemed to realize that these battles were serious, though she had a feeling he didn't understand exactly just _how_ serious they were.

"I can't really answer that, because I barely even know what's happening."

Why did she feel bad about lying to Kyoko? The charm bracelet on her wrist seemed a little heavier as the girl looked at her with those trusting doe eyes of hers. If anything Kyoko looked a little disappointed that she didn't know, if the girl tried to tell her that her brother was a part of it too, well Natsume could throw that back at her.

"I just hope nothing terrible comes of it."

"Yeah," she sighed out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her hands rested against the strap of her bag, fingers rubbing at the soft leather. "Say, I'm going to go visit Lambo, did you want to come with me?"

Kyoko didn't really think much on it as she stepped up beside Natsume and linked her arm with hers. The sandy haired teen felt warmth on her cheeks as Kyoko took the lead, bringing her along as she began to jabber on about the assignments and projects of her clubs.

Natsume listened, knowing that Kyoko was just trying to push back her worries by trying to focus on something else. She added in her two cents every so often up until they reached floor where Lambo was staying in.

A somber silence descended upon the two girls as they came upon Lambo's room, quickly replaced by quiet cheer from Kyoko and an elated laugh from Natsume.

There on the hospital bed sat Lambo, a wide grin on his face as he spoke in rapid Italian to Bianchi. When those green eyes of his caught sight of them, he called out to them, waving wildly even though the movement made him wince in pain.

" _Ane! Kyoko-nee!"_

* * *

"Who _is_ the mist guardian?" Gokudera asked Tsuna as they all stood outside of the gymnasium, waiting for said person to show up. He ran through the list of names that it could possibly be, but he was sure if Natsume had been chosen she would have already been there.

The brunet only shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing himself, even though it felt like he already had a feeling of who it was.

He just really hoped it wasn't them.

When Ken and Chikusa showed up, Tsuna only barely stopped from putting his face in his hands. So his father had really gone ahead and chosen _him._ The one thing he would give Mukuro was that he was strong, but having him as someone he could trust? Tsuna wasn't so sure about that.

As they were ushered in and told by the Cervello that their mist guardian had two minutes to show up, he tried not to panic.

Was Mukuro hoping to make a grand entrance?

It was the sound of two female voices that made Tsuna breath in relief. Though last he remembered, Mukuro did not have a feminine voice and would definitely not be talking to his sister of all people.

The girl that walked in beside Natsume was what Tsuna would have thought Mukuro would look like if he were a girl or had a sister.

"That's your boss, Dokuro-chan."

"Please, call me Chrome, Natsume-san."

It was very forward of the girl to address his sister as such, by the shit eating grin on her face she wasn't bothered at all.

"Sure, sure."

Just what was his sister getting up too?

First what she had done to Yamamoto and now she was willingly chatting along with a complete stranger who could possibly have ties to Mukuro? He didn't have much time to wonder over it as the shorter girl approached him, bowing slightly once she stopped before him.

"Boss."

There was a strangled shout and if he would have looked up, he would have caught Natsume putting Gokudera in a headlock. The half lidded look that the sandy haired teen aimed at both Yamamoto and Ryohei had the other guardians holding their hands up.

"She's not possessed by Mukuro, for fucks sake."

Well if Natsume said so and he too trusted his own instincts and the girl before him was her own person.

"I believe you're not," he said, loud enough for the others to hear him. The way her one eye crinkled and showed her emotions very openly made Tsuna blush, he was completely sure his face was a much darker color when she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

There was a sputtering sound and a snicker, "Awe, Tsuna has mafia seduction~"

He gave his sister the stink eye, who responded by sticking out her tongue.

 _Why was she suddenly so playful?_

"I'll be going then, boss."

She headed off into the designated battle area and Tsuna hoped that she was strong enough to face against the Varia's Mist Guardian. The feeling he got from that weird baby was similar to that of Reborn, but he couldn't be too sure.

Maybe he was just over thinking everything.

* * *

It was an interesting battle to witness.

Natsume wondered how her sensei would fare against the now revealed arcobaleno. She herself wondered how she would fight against him. Her arms were crossed against her chest, face devoid of emotion as she watched.

The ground beneath her feet gave way to heat, she didn't flinch away. The illusion of it merely went through her, the force behind it making her hair whip around. Someone pulled her, a hiss escaping them as they let themselves be burned.

She didn't give them any attention, noticing how the others in the room felt the sudden cold that put out the supposed heat.

 _An illusionist's strength is only as strong through another's will to believe what's happening around them. You disbelieve them and they cannot harm you. But if they disbelieve you, you will be easy pickings._

The girl had it in her to be a great illusionist, she just needed someone to be there for her and continue pushing her forward.

A chill ran up her spine.

"Rokudo Mukuro is here!"

That explained it, the intensity of the battle sky rocketed, the room twisted and turned and even Natsume was being affected. Not as much as the boys, Ryohei had crouched down on the ground, Gokudera was breathing in deeply and out to keep from being sick.

Tsuna was holding his head, a pained whimper leaving him.

Natsume was at his side, reaching out for him when he straightened up, eyes wide and filled with terror as he looked on where Mukuro stood. The sandy haired teen dropped her hands back to her side, a frown marring her face as she returned her attention to the battle.

They all held their breath as Mukuro's form was enveloped by Mammon's cloak, the babe's little animal circling around it and driving spikes into the figure that was captured. Laughter filled the air as pieces of fabric floated down and their stood Mukuro in all his smirking glory, fiddling with two pieces of metal in his hand.

"He got the rings."

"It's not over!"

Marmon materialized and everyone held their breath as they considered how the battle could continue on. Mukuro's shoulders shook from his laughter as he made a wide gesture with his arms.

"Your illusions have been taken over by mine," the teen told the small babe rather politely, mirth coloring his tone, "You're in my world now."

The ground broke and everyone was free falling, an explosion occurred, one that shook the walls of the gym and they were all standing on solid ground once more. A puff of smoke and the piece of a cloak falling to the floor was the only evidence that Mammon had been there.

"He killed him?" Tsuna asked a little dazed.

"No," Natsume answered, completely aware when the blond baby and Reborn hovered over them. "They ran away."

All the boys turned to look at her, but she brushed them off as she kept her eyes on the figure that sauntered up to them. Mukuro smirked down at her and the others, the complete mist ring already sitting on his left hand's ring finger.

"Match over: The winner is Chrome Dokuro."

While Gokudera did a good imitation of an offended cat, his figurative tail bristling she looked over the Mist Guardian. His shoulders were a little hunched, his breathing a little heavier than usual, all signs that he had over expended himself to win.

Or the body he was using was starting to go out on him.

She heard her brother thank Mukuro – _Mukuro of all people –_ and the teen only closed his eyes as he scoffed. He changed abruptly as he fell forward, neither Ken nor Chikusa moving quick enough to catch the girl.

The girl didn't so much as hit the ground, that she was merely laid down. She could see the last wisps of Mukuro's flame leave her and gave the other teen a point in not being a complete ass, compared to his fellow Kokuyo members.

Seriously what the fuck was their issue?

Just walking off and leaving the girl behind. From the short introduction she had (let it never be said that Natsume was not Tsuna's sister, she nearly tripped the girl up when she was making her way to the gym and didn't notice her in the way), Chrome Dokuro was sweet and perhaps one of the purest people she had met.

Almost like Kyoko, except that Kyoko wouldn't walk around with a trident and wasn't as willing to use said weapon to stab others like Chrome had done during her battle.

"What are you thinking?" it was Reborn who surprisingly asked, not Tsuna.

"If I throw dog treats, will that flea bag chase after them?"

"Natsume!"

She huffed, almost prissily as she stuck her nose in the air. Tsuna had that same tone in his voice that mama used when she caught Natsume cursing.

"Treat people nicely!"

"I do!"

There was a smothered cough from Yamamoto and a clearing of throat from Gokudera, who suddenly had the teen's full attention on them. While that went on, Colonello approached Reborn, looking over at the squabbling teens.

"She's a character."

Reborn only shook his head, "She's acting."

Or in a really good mood.

* * *

 **AN:** Wow I did not realize this ended so adruptly. Totally my bad. Uh, yeah?

When Mukuro says 'You're in my world now' all I think is of Dr. Facilier singing from _Princess and The Frog._

Another note, when Natsume says she jinxed Yamamoto, she did. She influenced his body to believe that it wasn't as badly injured as he was thinking it was, which was why she felt bad afterwards cause he pushed past his pains and actually made his injuries worse. I honestly believe that Mist Flames users are able to do as they please as long as no one over powers them - having been training with Kawahira and having to use her will against _that man_ she's actually pretty strong.

Questions, comments, concerns, I'm all for it.

I'm actually not too happy with this chapter, but if you guys like it, I guess that's cool. If not...well...I will try to do better.

Until Next time.

 _Sorugao_


	14. Update Info?

**HEY GUYS**

For those of you waiting who have been waiting on an update for this story, it _is_ happening but I have rewritten it and reposted it up separately. Just copy and paste the link below without the spaces and you'll be taken right to it!

www . fanfiction s/ 12126232/ 1/ We-Are-Two

 _Hope you enjoy the rewrite!_

 _Sorugao_


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